NOAA station USC00015121 · Alabama
Frost Dates for Marion Junction, AL
NOAA weather station Marion Junction 2 NE (USC00015121), Alabama · elevation 200 ft (61 m) · hardiness zone 8b*
- Lower-risk planting dateafter April 7only 1 spring in 10 still has a frost later
- Typical last frostMarch 1950% chance of a frost after it
- Typical first fall frostNovember 950% chance of a frost before it
- Frost-free season238 daystypical year, 32°F
- Hardiness zone8bcalculated*
The year at a glance
Frost dates (32°F)
| Chance | Last frost in spring after | First frost in fall before |
|---|---|---|
| 10% (unlikely) | April 7 | October 27 |
| 50% (typical) | March 19 | November 9 |
| 90% (likely) | February 28 | November 28 |
- Frost-free season (32°F, 50% chance)
- 238 days
- Hard frost (28°F), last in spring, 50% chance after
- March 3
- Hard frost (28°F), first in fall, 50% chance before
- November 20
The last 15 years (2006–2020 normals)
Typical last frost March 14 (5 days earlier than the 30-year normal), typical first fall frost November 7 (2 days earlier). Frost-free season 237 days.
A shorter, more recent NOAA period. The 30-year normals above remain the main reference: 15 years carry more year-to-year noise.
Add these dates to your calendar Yearly reminders for the typical last frost, the lower-risk planting date and the typical first fall frost (.ics).
How the chance of frost changes with the date
What actually happened in recent years
| Year | Last spring frost | First fall frost |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | April 3 | November 14 |
| 2022 | March 14 | October 19 |
| 2023 | March 22 | November 2 |
| 2024 | March 19 | November 25 |
| 2025 | March 22 | November 9 |
| 2026 | March 17 | season not over yet |
What these dates mean
Setting out tender crops on the early spring date, February 28, risks a 90% chance of a frost later in Marion Junction and should be treated as a gamble. The cautious spring date for tender crops is April 7, when only a 10% chance of a frost later remains.
The 50% light-frost date in spring, March 19, means a frost is equally likely to occur after that day, while the 50% light-frost date in fall, November 9, means a frost is equally likely to have occurred before that day. The cautious fall date for finishing tender crops is October 27, which carries just a 10% chance that a frost has arrived earlier.
Hard-frost dates—March 3 in spring and November 20 in fall—are noted because a 28°F frost can damage plants more severely than the 32°F light frost. These dates, together with the 238-day span between the two 32°F 50% dates, summarize the frost risk profile for Marion Junction over the 28-year record.
How to read the probabilities
The dates are probabilities from 30 years of weather, not a forecast for this year.
- Spring: "10% after April 7" means that in about one spring out of ten a frost still happens after that date. The 90% date is the earliest: a frost after it happens in most years.
- Fall: "10% before October 27" means that in about one fall out of ten the first frost arrives before that date.
- 50% is the typical date: half of the years are earlier, half are later.
- A light frost (32°F) damages tender plants; a hard frost (28°F) also stops most hardy vegetables.
Nearby weather stations
- Clanton, AL 44 mi (70 km)
- Montgomery, AL 50 mi (80 km)
- Gainesville Lock, AL 58 mi (94 km)
- Greenville, AL 60 mi (96 km)
- Bessemer, AL 65 mi (105 km)
Sources
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, station USC00015121
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals
- PRISM Group, Oregon State University — 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone GIS datasets
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 2006–2020 (15-year normals), station USC00015121
- NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network – Daily (GHCN-Daily), observed daily minimum temperature, retrieved 2026-10-08
* Hardiness zone 8b: zone derived from PRISM 2023 grid at the station location (not the official USDA map). Source data: PRISM Group, Oregon State University.
Station coordinates: 32.4714, -87.2314.