The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map, which was generated based on weather data gathered from 1991 to 2020, indicates that about half the United States moved into a warmer zone.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (Courtesy: USDA) KXAN Meteorologist Nick Bannin spoke with the USDA about the changes to the zones in the map and what that means for planters here in Central Texas.

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - The USDA has recently released a new Plant Hardiness Zone Map for 2023 which shows the lowest average winter temperatures across the nation.

For example, Seattle, Washington, and the city of Austin, Texas, are both in the USDA hardiness zone 9a because the map is a measure of the coldest temperature a plant can handle.

Thirty years later in 1990, the USDA released an updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map. This map took data from close to 8,000 weather stations and used data from the period from 1974 to 1986.

The hardiness zone maps As long as there have been gardeners, people have noticed that some plants can survive extremely cold temperatures while others cannot. Tomatoes die at 32.

The USDA’s winter hardiness zone map has long been the standard used by home gardeners, ... and Zone 10 is the warmest, found at the southern tips of Texas, California and Florida.

The new map, which allows users to find their zones by ZIP code, includes two new warmer zones - 12, for climates with average lows of 50 to 60 degrees, and 13, for 60 to 70 degrees.

Texas has eight plant hardiness zones, ranging from the cold-hardy northwestern Panhandle to the warmer southern regions. ... Map shows 82% of Texas land in drought or 'abnormally dry' ...

In some cases -- Ohio, Nebraska and Texas -- nearly the entire states have been updated to warmer zones. The map also creates two new zones: 12, for climates with average lows of 50 to 60 degrees ...

Most folks are probably done with talking about the cold, and believe me, I get that. I am, too. I got it last year. And I absolutely, positively, and certainly got it back in 2021 when that ...

The 1990 USDA Hardiness Zone Map may still be the most accurate locally.j But it doesn’t stop there… There are a couple of other important factors that need to be mentioned in all of this.