Little Rock, AR Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

Frost leaves Little Rock on March 21 and comes back on November 10 when the odds are even, a window of 234 days for tender plants.

Even odds are a coin toss, so plan around the safer edges: one spring in ten still has a freeze on or after April 6, and one fall in ten has its first freeze by October 29. Little Rock lands within a couple of weeks of the middle of the 100 cities covered here, whose median season is 229 days.

These dates come from the NOAA weather station Little Rock AP Adams Field (ID USW00013963), 6.8 miles east of the Census Bureau's internal point for Little Rock, at about 260 feet above sea level.

Little Rock's last spring frost, by chance

Frost is still possible on March 2 in nine springs out of ten and on March 21 in five; only one spring in ten sees a freeze as late as April 6.

From the earliest date to the latest is 35 days, a middling band against the other 100 cities.

First fall frost in Little Rock

NOAA's early fall date for Little Rock is October 29, its even-odds date is November 10 and its late date is November 25; the first freeze has come by each of them in one, five and nine years out of ten.

Just 27 days separate the early and late dates, tighter than most cities on these pages.

The growing season in Little Rock

Neither long nor short next to the other cities here. A typical year gives 234 days; nine years in ten give at least 210 days, and one in ten reaches 257 days. The swing is 24 days between typical and short, about average for these pages.

NOAA counts these days from its own simulations, so they will not equal the number of days between the two typical dates exactly. A night at or below 32°F happens in 100% of years at this station, so frost is a yearly event here.

Hard freeze dates for Little Rock

NOAA's even-odds hard freeze dates for Little Rock are November 21 in fall and March 8 in spring, 11 days and 13 days from the matching 32°F dates. The late 28°F spring date, March 26, is the one that still catches blooms and young transplants one year in ten, and the early fall date, November 6, is when a hard freeze has arrived in one fall out of ten.

Using Little Rock's frost dates in the garden

In Little Rock the University of New Hampshire Extension count lands like this, measured from the typical last frost on March 21: lettuce from February 21 to February 28, cabbage on February 21, seed potatoes from March 7 to March 14, then peppers on April 4 and beans from March 21. Peas have no frost-based date in the University of New Hampshire Extension sheet: they go in as soon as the soil thaws.

Counting from the late date, April 6, instead of the typical one delays every after-frost crop by 16 days. That is the price of a one-in-ten spring that most years will not need.

Fall crops are counted back from the first frost, using NC State Extension's days to harvest plus University of Georgia Extension's harvest allowance of 18 days. In Little Rock only 32 of the 34 crops in the fall planner have a last planting day in July or later, and the other 2 would have to go in before then, in spring or early summer. The slowest crop that still fits is collard greens, which needs 118 days before the early first frost and so must be in by July 3.

Worked example: fall broccoli in Little Rock

Work through broccoli transplants for fall in Little Rock. The longest days to harvest NC State Extension gives is 80 days, plus University of Georgia Extension's allowance of 18 days, for 98 days in all. Subtract that from the typical first frost on November 10 and the last day to plant is August 4; subtract it from the early date on October 29 and it is July 23.

With only 12 days between the two last days, Little Rock gardeners can plan on either without much difference.

In spring the same family goes in earlier: counting from March 21, University of New Hampshire Extension puts cabbage transplants out on February 21, weeks ahead of the last frost.

About the Little Rock AP Adams Field station

The station lies 6.8 miles east of Little Rock's internal point, farther than most on these pages, so treat its dates as a regional guide.

At about 260 feet, it ranks above 26 and below 73 of the 100 stations used for these pages. In NOAA's file the record is marked S, meaning standard.

The Census Gazetteer gives no elevation for Little Rock itself, so this page cannot tell you whether your garden sits above or below the station. If it is noticeably higher or lower, compare the stations the frost dates tool lists nearby and lean toward the colder reading.

Little Rock compared with nearby cities

The nearest city on these pages is Memphis, TN, 138 miles away, and the other two below are farther out, so these are regional comparisons, not neighbors.

• Memphis, TN, 138 miles to the east: last frost March 16, first frost November 16, 244 days frost-free; the last frost is 5 days earlier than in Little Rock, and it has 10 days more without frost.
• Tulsa, OK (222 miles, north-west): spring frost lingers 10 days longer than in Little Rock, and it has 14 days less without frost. Its typical dates are March 31 and November 4, with 220 days frost-free.
• McKinney, TX (268 miles, west): the last frost is 4 days earlier than in Little Rock, and frost-free days differ from Little Rock's by less than a week. Its typical dates are March 17 and November 15, with 241 days frost-free.

Put the frost dates to work

Start with the spring planting planner for the whole crop list counted from these dates, and the fall planting planner for the last planting days. The frost dates tool shows every level of risk at this station, and the hardiness zone lookup covers winter survival for shrubs and perennials.

Looking for another city? The city frost dates index lists every page, grouped by state.

Where these numbers come from

Every frost and freeze date comes from the station's entry in NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for 1991–2020 (doi:10.25921/4ek7-fk11), with no adjustment, and NOAA's documentation explains what each probability means. The Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer places Little Rock on the map, and its Vintage 2024 estimates, 204,774 people here, decide which cities get a page.

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.

Frost dates are long-term odds, not a forecast. Before you plant, check the local forecast for the coming week, and keep row cover or old sheets handy for the nights the odds get wrong.