AUSTIN (KXAN) — The recent weather in Central Texas has looked more like late summer than early fall. Does the feeling of longer summer mean that fall is just getting warmer? This is possible but remains to be seen. What is likely is that the first freeze will likely arrive later not only in Central Texas but across the country.
Our media partners at Climate Central analyzed 204 cities to determine whether freezes will arrive earlier or later. For the sake of transparency, it should be noted that Austin was not one of the cities analyzed.
The study determined that the first freeze would arrive later in the 179 cities analysed. This is 88%. The delay in arriving at the first 32 degrees of fall or winter is, on average, twelve days.
This first freeze will arrive at least two weeks later in 70 cities in the Northeast, Ohio Valley and upper Midwest.
What’s interesting about the study is that some cities in Texas experienced delays in the first freeze while other cities experienced previous freezes.
Of the 10 Lone Star State cities considered, El Paso had the longest delay in the first freeze with 20 days followed by Tyler with 14 days and Sherman with 10 days. The Dallas-Fort Worth area saw a delay of only three days.
Those who suffer from earlier autumn freezes? The two at the top of this list aren’t too far behind us. Waco had its first freeze eleven days ago while San Angelo’s first freeze comes eight days ago. For context, the average first freeze in Waco is November 21 while San Angelo is November 12.
It’s hard to know, isn’t it?
The negative impacts of these delays include longer allergy seasons, delayed arrival of fall colors, farmers having to adjust their schedules, and disruption to local ecosystems.
Specifically, the timing of the first freeze affects planting, pest management, and harvest schedules. Rising temperatures, caused in part by carbon pollution, mean the growing season is more than two weeks longer on average across the Lower 48.
Finally, it has been determined that delayed freezing affects fruit and nut crops. This is an industry worth about $27 billion in our country. The cold period that used to start on September 1 has been reduced in some cities due to delays.
Cities across the country experiencing the longest delays? Reno, Nevada, tops the list of 179 cities whose first freeze arrived after 41 days. Bend, OR comes in second with a 38-day delay, Santa Maria, CA with a 35-day delay, and Boise, ID and Toledo, OH with a 29-day delay.
So, while this bout of late summer weather continues, we’ll take this time to remind you of our average first freeze dates. The average first freeze in Austin is around November 30. It was delayed by more than a month last year when the first freeze occurred on January 6, 2025.