It is that time of the year again when cold fronts arrive and cooler air settles in. While it has been warm recently, cooler fall air is coming and eventually, we’ll have the first fall frost and freeze.

A frost occurs when temperatures are between 33 and 36 degrees with light winds and clear skies. A freeze occurs when temperatures fall to or below 32 degrees for at least three consecutive hours.

A hard freeze is also known as a killing freeze and is different from just a freeze. A hard freeze occurs when temperatures drop to or below 28 degrees, killing most vegetation.

Our average first freeze comes around late October and early November.

We typically see our first hard freeze later in the season. Most locations do not see a hard freeze until early November.

There have previously been some early freezes here in the Tennessee Valley. Some of our earliest freezes have come in the first few days of October.

The earliest first freeze in Huntsville on record was on October 9, 2000. While the earliest first freeze in Valley Head was September 22, 1983.