Frost dates California Fresno

Frost dates in Fresno, California

Last spring frost Jan 14 First fall frost Dec 14 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Fresno is Jan 14 and the average first fall frost is Dec 14, measured at FRESNO YOSEMITE INTL AP, about 4 miles from the city centre. Below: how sure those dates are, and what to start, sow and set out each week.

Average last spring frostJan 1432°F, 50% probability
Average first fall frostDec 1432°F, 50% probability
Days between them334average frost-free season
How sure is that date? NOAA probability levels for a 32°F freeze
ProbabilityFreeze still comes after (spring)First freeze has come by (fall)
90%Dec 22Jan 12
50%Jan 14Dec 14
10%Feb 11Nov 29

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Jan 14, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after Feb 11. In 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives before Nov 29.

Measured at: FRESNO YOSEMITE INTL AP, CA (NOAA station USW00093193), about 4 miles away at 333 ft, 30 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • FRESNO 5 NE, CA (NOAA station USC00043256), about 4 miles away at 338 ft, 21 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Jan 30, first fall frost Dec 11
  • FRIANT GOVERNMENT CAMP, CA (NOAA station USC00043261), about 18 miles away at 410 ft, 29 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Mar 9, first fall frost Dec 1

Seed-starting schedule for Fresno, CA

Counted from a last frost date of Jan 14 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Oct 814 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekOct 8 to Oct 22
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionOct 8 to Oct 22
  2. Week of Oct 1513 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyOct 15 to Oct 22
  3. Week of Oct 2212 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryOct 22 to Nov 5
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachOct 22 to Nov 5
  4. Week of Nov 510 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliNov 5 to Nov 19
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutNov 5 to Nov 19
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageNov 5 to Nov 19
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleNov 5 to Nov 19
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiNov 5 to Nov 19
  5. Week of Nov 129 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceNov 12 to Nov 19
  6. Week of Nov 198 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerNov 19 to Dec 3
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantNov 19 to Dec 3
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperNov 19 to Dec 3
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardNov 19 to Dec 3
  7. Week of Nov 267 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoNov 26 to Dec 10
  8. Week of Dec 36 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilDec 3 to Dec 17
    • Set transplants outSpinachDec 3 to Dec 24
  9. Week of Dec 174 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishDec 17 to Dec 31
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Dec 17
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipDec 17 to Dec 31
    • Set transplants outBroccoliDec 17 to Dec 31
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutDec 17 to Dec 31
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Dec 17
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Dec 17
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Dec 17
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Dec 17
    • Set transplants outLettuceDec 17 to Dec 24
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Dec 17
  10. Week of Dec 243 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberDec 24 to Dec 31
    • Set transplants outParsleyDec 24 to Dec 31
  11. Week of Dec 312 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonDec 31 to Jan 7
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinDec 31 to Jan 7
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashDec 31 to Jan 7
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashDec 31 to Jan 7
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniDec 31 to Jan 7
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoDec 31 to Jan 7
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Dec 31
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Dec 31
  12. Week of Jan 14Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Jan 14
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Jan 14
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Jan 14
  13. Week of Jan 211 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoJan 21 to Jan 28
    • Set transplants outCucumberJan 21 to Jan 28
    • Set transplants outTomatoJan 21 to Jan 28
  14. Week of Jan 282 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom Jan 28
    • Set transplants outEggplantJan 28 to Feb 4
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom Jan 28
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom Jan 28
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom Jan 28
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom Jan 28
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom Jan 28
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom Jan 28

Not in the city centre? Look up your own ZIP code

More in California

Where the numbers come from

Sources and method

Frost dates. U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020), NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (Palecki, Durre, Applequist, Arguez and Lawrimore, 2021). These are 30-year station statistics for 1991 to 2020. "Frost" here means an air temperature of 32°F or lower at the station. We use 6,539 stations that have at least 10 years of record and a published date; 176 more are stations where a freeze is too rare for NOAA to date, and 180 are stations cold enough to have frost risk all year.

Probability level. The headline dates are NOAA's 50% level: in half of years the last spring freeze comes later than that date, and in half of years the first fall freeze comes earlier. The 10% and 90% levels are shown next to them. For tender plants, the 10% spring date is the safer one to plan from: a freeze follows it in only 1 year in 10.

Which station. Your ZIP code is matched to the nearest of those stations by straight-line distance from the ZIP code's centre point (GeoNames, geonames.org, CC BY 4.0; 40,979 ZIP codes in the 50 states and DC). Nearest is not always most alike: a station on a hill, in a valley or by the water can differ from your garden by a week or more. That is why the station's name, distance and elevation are shown with every result, along with two more stations nearby. NOAA makes the same point: the normals are limited between stations as distance grows horizontally and vertically.

Seed-starting offsets. Growing Vegetables: When to Plant Your Vegetable Garden, a fact sheet from University of New Hampshire Extension. It gives each crop's weeks from seed to transplant and when it is safe to set out or sow relative to the last frost. The method is theirs too: take the planting date and count back the seed-to-transplant weeks. Where the fact sheet gives a range of planting dates, the start-indoors dates count back from the earliest one. The figures used, as the fact sheet states them:

  • Basil: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Bean: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Broccoli: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Brussels sprout: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cabbage: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cauliflower: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost.
  • Celery: Seed to transplant 10-12 weeks; set out after last frost.
  • Cucumber: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Eggplant: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks after last frost.
  • Kale: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Kohlrabi: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Leek: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Lettuce: Seed to transplant 4-5 weeks; set out 3-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Melon: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Onion: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsley: Seed to transplant 9-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsnip: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Pepper: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Potato: Plant seed potatoes in garden 1-2 weeks before last frost.
  • Pumpkin: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Radish: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Spinach: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 3-6 weeks before last frost.
  • Summer squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Sweet potato: Plant slips in garden 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Swiss chard: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost; or plant seed in garden 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Tomato: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Turnip: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Winter squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Zucchini: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.

Not on the calendar. The same fact sheet times these by soil temperature, not by frost date, so they get no date here:

  • Pea: as soon as the soil thaws.
  • Beet: when the soil warms to 45°F.
  • Carrot: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Corn: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Cucumber, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash, zucchini: direct-sow when the soil warms to 70°F.

Rutabaga is left out: the fact sheet gives it New Hampshire calendar dates, not a frost offset.

The fact sheet was written for New Hampshire. The offsets are relative to the last frost, so they carry to other places with a spring frost, but where winters are mild many cool-season crops are grown in fall and winter instead. Your state's extension service has the local calendar. Dates are 30-year statistics, not a forecast: check the forecast before setting tender plants out.

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