Frost dates for Auburn, California
Half of years have their last spring frost by February 25, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after April 7.
A frost date is really a percentile from 30 years of records at a nearby weather station: in about half of years a frost still comes after the median date. Both numbers are below, so you can choose the risk yourself.
The odds
Last spring frost
How often a frost still comes on or after each date.
- 1 year in 10
- April 7
- 1 year in 5
- March 28
- 3 years in 10
- March 14
- 2 years in 5
- March 3
- Half of years (the median)
- February 25
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- November 15
- 1 year in 5
- November 22
- 3 years in 10
- November 28
- 2 years in 5
- December 1
- Half of years (the median)
- December 5
- Growing season
- about 286 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 9a, 9b
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 32 °C90 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- May to September, in hot, long days (how we know)
Summer and rain
A growing garden needs about 25 mm1 in of water a week, rain and watering together. Here is what a normal month brings.
- Nearly every drop is yours
- June to September: rain brings less than a quarter of the water a growing garden needs, about 25 mm1 in a week (how we know)
Month by month
- January
- high ~14 °C56 °F · low ~3 °C38 °F · rain ~178 mm7 in
- February
- high ~15 °C59 °F · low ~4 °C40 °F · rain ~165 mm6.5 in
- March
- high ~17 °C63 °F · low ~6 °C42 °F · rain ~155 mm6.1 in
- April
- high ~20 °C68 °F · low ~7 °C45 °F · rain ~72 mm2.8 in
- May
- high ~25 °C77 °F · low ~11 °C51 °F · rain ~42 mm1.6 in
- June
- high ~30 °C86 °F · low ~14 °C58 °F · rain ~10 mm0.4 in
- July
- high ~34 °C93 °F · low ~17 °C63 °F · rain ~0.3 mm0.01 in
- August
- high ~33 °C92 °F · low ~17 °C63 °F · rain ~1.8 mm0.07 in
- September
- high ~30 °C87 °F · low ~15 °C60 °F · rain ~6.1 mm0.2 in
- October
- high ~25 °C77 °F · low ~11 °C52 °F · rain ~36 mm1.4 in
- November
- high ~18 °C64 °F · low ~6 °C43 °F · rain ~78 mm3.1 in
- December
- high ~13 °C56 °F · low ~3 °C37 °F · rain ~173 mm6.8 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Auburn station (listed by NOAA as Auburn, USC00040383), at 38.91, -121.08. These are that station’s own records, unshifted. The further your garden is from it, the less exactly they describe your ground. The planner finds the nearest station to your garden and lowers its confidence with distance, so no number is presented as if it were measured in your garden.
Cold air also pools in low ground on the clear, still nights when frost happens, so a hollow can freeze while a slope a few hundred feet away does not. No table can know that about your garden. A few seasons of your own logged frosts can.
ZIP codes nearest this station
95602, 95603, 95614, 95630, 95648, 95650, 95651, 95658, 95661, 95663, 95664, 95677…
+3 moreShow fewer
95678, 95746, 95765.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Sacramento 5 ESE, CA, last frost by January 12
- Woodland 1 WNW, CA, last frost by February 7
- Lodi, CA, last frost by February 9
- Livermore, CA, last frost by February 15
Other stations in California.
- Oakland Museum, CA, frost is rare
- Oakland Metro International Airport, CA, last frost by January 7
- San Francisco Oceanside, CA, frost is rare
- Mt Hamilton, CA, last frost by May 3
- Skyline Ridge Preserve, CA, last frost by March 21
- Fresno 5 NE, CA, last frost by January 30
- Shelter Cove Aviation, CA, frost is rare
- Oxnard, CA, frost is rare
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
More ways Milpa can help
When do I plant? · What grows well together? · Plan my garden · What can I plant now? · Something wrong in the garden? · Keep a garden diary · Heard a tip?