Frost dates for Fresno 5 NE, California
Half of years have their last spring frost by January 30, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after March 4.
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
- March 4
- 1 year in 5
- February 21
- 3 years in 10
- February 10
- 2 years in 5
- February 3
- Half of years (the median)
- January 30
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- November 25
- 1 year in 5
- December 1
- 3 years in 10
- December 4
- 2 years in 5
- December 8
- Half of years (the median)
- December 11
- Growing season
- about 319 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 9a, 9b
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 38 °C100 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- April 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
- April to November: 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 ~16 °C61 °F · low ~3 °C38 °F · rain ~58 mm2.3 in
- February
- high ~19 °C67 °F · low ~5 °C42 °F · rain ~48 mm1.9 in
- March
- high ~23 °C73 °F · low ~7 °C45 °F · rain ~57 mm2.2 in
- April
- high ~26 °C79 °F · low ~9 °C49 °F · rain ~25 mm1 in
- May
- high ~31 °C87 °F · low ~13 °C56 °F · rain ~14 mm0.6 in
- June
- high ~36 °C96 °F · low ~17 °C62 °F · rain ~4.6 mm0.2 in
- July
- high ~39 °C102 °F · low ~20 °C68 °F · rain ~0.8 mm0.03 in
- August
- high ~38 °C101 °F · low ~19 °C67 °F · rain ~0.3 mm0.01 in
- September
- high ~36 °C96 °F · low ~17 °C62 °F · rain ~2.8 mm0.1 in
- October
- high ~29 °C85 °F · low ~12 °C53 °F · rain ~14 mm0.6 in
- November
- high ~21 °C71 °F · low ~7 °C44 °F · rain ~24 mm1 in
- December
- high ~16 °C61 °F · low ~3 °C38 °F · rain ~52 mm2 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Fresno 5 NE station (listed by NOAA as Fresno 5 NE, USC00043256), at 36.77, -119.71. 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
93616, 93625, 93648, 93652, 93654, 93657, 93702, 93706, 93721, 93725, 93727.
Nearby stations
Other stations in California.
- Mt Hamilton, CA, last frost by May 3
- Lodi, CA, last frost by February 9
- Livermore, CA, last frost by February 15
- Skyline Ridge Preserve, CA, last frost by March 21
- Oakland Metro International Airport, CA, last frost by January 7
- Sacramento 5 ESE, CA, last frost by January 12
- Oakland Museum, CA, frost is rare
- Auburn, CA, last frost by February 25
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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