Atlanta, Georgia growing-season context
Atlanta has a long growing season, but late cold snaps and first fall freezes still matter for tender vegetables and ornamentals.
This page runs the national frost engine for Atlanta and keeps freeze timing tied to local climatology and current weather.
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Frost dates and freeze risk for Atlanta, Georgia
Separate the historical freeze odds from the weather that is actually forecast for the next seven days.
Works anywhere in the United States: tap Use my location for conditions near me, or type any U.S. city or ZIP code.
Optional. Your browser shares a location rounded to about 0.001° only after you tap. It is used to load nearby conditions and is not included in analytics.
How cautious do you want to be in spring?
The median last-freeze date is not a guarantee of frost-free weather. The live forecast below should outrank the calendar for an immediate planting decision.
What the current forecast says
Frost dates and hardiness zones are different
NOAA frost normals describe when 32°F freezes historically occur. The USDA hardiness zone describes average annual extreme winter minimum temperature and is mainly a perennial-survival guide. A zone does not tell you your last spring freeze or first fall freeze.
The zone shown here is the 2023 USDA majority zone for the resolved ZIP area, so local terrain and zone boundaries can still matter. Open the official USDA map.
Why station distance matters
Freeze climatology comes from the nearest usable NOAA normals station. A distant station is useful regional context, but terrain, elevation, shoreline influence and cold-air drainage can make your yard different.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Climate Normals and NWS forecasts.
Frost date questions this tool answers
When is the first frost near me, or for my ZIP code?
Type a city or ZIP code, or tap Use my location. The dates come from the nearest usable NOAA climate normals station, so the answer is station climatology for your area rather than a state-wide average.
What does a 10 percent or 50 percent freeze date actually mean?
It is a historical frequency, not a schedule. The 50 percent last-spring-freeze date is the day by which half the years on record had seen their final 32°F freeze. The 10 percent date is the cautious end: only one year in ten had a freeze after it. Neither one promises anything about this year.
Is my hardiness zone the same as my frost date?
No, and treating them as the same is the most common mistake here. A USDA zone describes the average annual coldest winter temperature, which is a survival question for perennials. It does not tell you your last spring freeze, your first fall freeze, or when it is safe to set out tomatoes.
Will it frost this week?
The climatology answers a typical year. The seven-day NWS forecast on this page answers this week, including hours at or below 28°F for a hard freeze. For an immediate decision about covering plants, the live forecast should outrank the calendar every time.
Why does the reporting station distance matter?
Freeze behavior is local. Elevation, a lakeshore, a valley bottom that pools cold air, or a city heat island can move a frost date by a week or more against a station a few miles away. The page shows how far the station is and how confident that fit is, so you can discount it when it is far.
Do frost dates change from year to year?
The normals themselves update on NOAA's 30-year cycle, so they move slowly. Any single season can land well outside the window in either direction, which is exactly what the 10 and 90 percent dates are there to show.