Frost dates in California

Across California's 169 NOAA stations with a frost every year, the typical last spring frost ranges from February 7 at Desert Resorts Regional Airport (120 feet below sea level) to June 14 at Jess Valley (5,400 feet above sea level). The middle station's date is April 9.

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Last frost across California

The frost-free season runs from 91 days at Portola to 298 days at Desert Resorts Regional Airport.

The station with the latest frost sits about 5,500 feet higher than the one with the earliest.

At 163 stations a freezing night doesn't come every winter, so the dates there apply only to the years that have one.

At 32 stations, frost comes in fewer than 1 year in 10, too rarely for frost dates.

At 9 stations, all high or far north, frost is possible in every month.

These are typical dates: in half of springs the last frost comes later. Each place's page, and each ZIP code lookup, also gives the late-year date, after which only 1 spring in 10 has a frost. That's the safer date for tender plants.

Frost dates for California's larger places

Typical (1-in-2) dates. Each place's page has the early and late years, a planting calendar and a printable planner. Zones are for the ZIP code nearest each place's center. *Not every winter has a freeze here; the date is for the years that do.

Hardiness zones in California

California's 2,493 ZIP codes in the USDA list fall in zones 5b to 11a: 5b (under 1 percent), 6a (under 1 percent), 6b (2 percent), 7a (2 percent), 7b (1 percent), 8a (2 percent), 8b (4 percent), 9a (9 percent), 9b (33 percent), 10a (25 percent), 10b (21 percent) and 11a (1 percent). Compared with the 2012 map, 24 percent of them moved to a warmer half zone (16 by a full zone or more), 69 percent stayed the same and 175 moved to a colder one.

A hardiness zone is about the coldest night of winter, which decides which shrubs, trees and perennials survive. Frost dates are about spring and fall, which decide when to plant. You need both. Read more about what the zones mean and what changed in 2023.

Every NOAA station in California

All 373 stations in California with frost statistics in NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals, from A to Z. Station names are usually a town, an airport, or a distance and direction from a town. Find one near you and at a similar elevation.

*Not every winter has a freeze at this station; the date is for the years that do.

Typical (1-in-2) dates at 32°F. For the early and late years, and a planting calendar built from your own dates, look up your ZIP code.