Arlington, TX Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

Arlington gardeners can count on March 9 as the even-odds date for the last spring frost and November 21 as the even-odds date for the first fall frost, which adds up to 256 days without a freeze in a typical year.

Even odds are a coin toss, so plan around the safer edges: one spring in ten still has a freeze on or after March 28, and one fall in ten has its first freeze by November 3. Arlington's season is 27 days longer than the 229 days median across the 100 cities on these pages, which puts it 34th for season length.

NOAA measured them at Arlington Muni AP (station USW00053907), about 3.1 miles south-east of the Census Bureau's internal point for Arlington and about 630 feet above sea level.

When is the last frost in Arlington?

Frost is still possible on February 18 in nine springs out of ten and on March 9 in five; only one spring in ten sees a freeze as late as March 28.

The early and late dates are 38 days apart, about the spread most cities on these pages show.

Arlington's first fall frost, by chance

NOAA's early fall date for Arlington is November 3, its even-odds date is November 21 and its late date is December 7; the first freeze has come by each of them in one, five and nine years out of ten.

From the earliest first freeze to the latest is 34 days, close to the middle of the pack.

The growing season in Arlington

A little more room than the middle of these pages, then, but not a different kind of garden. Season length swings more here than in most of the 100 cities: 256 days in a typical year, 229 days in a short one, a difference of 27 days.

These figures are NOAA's own counts of freeze-free days across its simulated years, which is why they can differ a little from the days between the two typical dates. A night at or below 32°F happens in 100% of years at this station, so frost is a yearly event here.

When a hard freeze reaches Arlington

The typical 28°F night comes on December 4 in fall, 13 days after the first 32°F frost, and the last one comes on February 25 in spring, 12 days before the last 32°F frost. One spring in ten still has a 28°F night on or after March 14, and one fall in ten sees the first by November 14.

Using Arlington's frost dates in the garden

The University of New Hampshire Extension sheet times each crop from the last frost. For Arlington's typical date, March 9, that means cabbage on February 9, lettuce from February 9 to February 16, seed potatoes from February 23 to March 2, and, once the frost is behind you, peppers on March 23 and beans on or after March 9. The University of New Hampshire Extension sheet gives peas no frost count at all; sow them as soon as the soil thaws.

From the late date, March 28, every tender crop moves back 19 days; that buys protection against a spring only one year in ten brings.

Of the 34 crops in the fall planner, 32 still have a July-or-later last planting day in Arlington once NC State Extension's days to harvest and University of Georgia Extension's harvest allowance of 18 days are counted back from frost. The other 2 do not. Of the crops that fit, collard greens is the slowest: 118 days from planting to the early frost, which makes July 8 its last day.

Worked example: the last day for fall broccoli in Arlington

Broccoli transplants need up to 80 days to reach harvest by NC State Extension's table, and University of Georgia Extension adds 18 days to harvest, so 98 days must pass before frost. In Arlington the last planting day is August 15 against the typical first frost on November 21, and July 28 against the early date on November 3.

18 days separate the two last days, enough that in Arlington the earlier one is worth following.

In spring the same family goes in earlier: counting from March 9, University of New Hampshire Extension puts cabbage transplants out on February 9, weeks ahead of the last frost.

About the Arlington Muni AP station

3.1 miles south-east of the city's internal point, the station is close but not on top of Arlington.

Its elevation is about 630 feet. Of the 100 stations behind these pages, 52 sit higher and 47 lower. NOAA flags this station's record as representative, the code R, for the data behind its 50% last-frost value.

No elevation is available for Arlington in the Census data we saved, so the station's height may or may not match your garden's. Compare nearby stations in the frost dates tool if it does not, and err toward the colder dates.

Nearby cities and their frost dates

Arlington sits in a cluster: Grand Prairie, TX is only 6.1 miles away, and the other two cities below are not much farther, so gaps in their dates come from local setting.

• Grand Prairie, TX lies 6.1 miles east of Arlington. Typical last frost March 20, first frost November 13, 236 days between; the last frost is 11 days later than in Arlington, and the season runs 20 days shorter.
• Irving, TX (14 miles, north-east): its last frost is nearly the same as Arlington's, and the season is about the same length as Arlington's. Its typical dates are March 8 and November 24, with 262 days frost-free.
• Fort Worth, TX (14 miles, north-west): its last frost comes 4 days before Arlington's, and the season runs 8 days longer. Its typical dates are March 5 and November 24, with 264 days frost-free.

Take these dates further

To go beyond the crops above, use the spring planting planner and fall planting planner, both set to this station. The frost dates tool shows the full odds for Arlington, and the hardiness zone lookup gives the winter-cold zone for your ZIP code.

Every city covered is on the city frost dates index, sorted by state.

For Texas, the state planting pages copy the Extension calendar (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension) crop by crop and region by region: tomatoes in Texas, peppers in Texas, cucumbers in Texas, summer squash in Texas, green beans in Texas. Set those windows beside the frost dates above.

Where these numbers come from

The frost and freeze dates are NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for 1991–2020 (doi:10.25921/4ek7-fk11), copied from the station's own record without adjustment; NOAA's documentation defines each probability. Arlington and its internal point are listed in the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer of places; its place in the ranking comes from the Vintage 2024 population estimates, which count 403,672 residents.

Planting dates here are those rules from University of New Hampshire Extension, NC State Extension and University of Georgia Extension, applied to this station's frost dates and nothing else. The methodology page explains how each figure is checked.

NOAA's dates say how often frost has come, not when it will. Check the forecast before planting and keep a cover on hand.