Frost dates California Sacramento

Frost dates in Sacramento, California

Last spring frost Jan 12 First fall frost Dec 16 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Sacramento is Jan 12 and the average first fall frost is Dec 16, measured at SACRAMENTO 5 ESE, about 5 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 1232°F, 50% probability
Average first fall frostDec 1632°F, 50% probability
Days between them338average 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 18Jan 14
50%Jan 12Dec 16
10%Feb 8Nov 28

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Jan 12, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after Feb 8. In 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives before Nov 28.

Measured at: SACRAMENTO 5 ESE, CA (NOAA station USW00023271), about 5 miles away at 38 ft, 30 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • SACRAMENTO EXECUTIVE AP, CA (NOAA station USW00023232), about 5 miles away at 15 ft, 30 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Feb 2, first fall frost Dec 2
  • SACRAMENTO METRO AP, CA (NOAA station USW00093225), about 9 miles away at 23 ft, 22 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Feb 22, first fall frost Nov 24

Seed-starting schedule for Sacramento, CA

Counted from a last frost date of Jan 12 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Oct 614 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekOct 6 to Oct 20
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionOct 6 to Oct 20
  2. Week of Oct 1313 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyOct 13 to Oct 20
  3. Week of Oct 2012 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryOct 20 to Nov 3
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachOct 20 to Nov 3
  4. Week of Nov 310 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliNov 3 to Nov 17
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutNov 3 to Nov 17
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageNov 3 to Nov 17
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleNov 3 to Nov 17
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiNov 3 to Nov 17
  5. Week of Nov 109 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceNov 10 to Nov 17
  6. Week of Nov 178 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerNov 17 to Dec 1
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantNov 17 to Dec 1
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperNov 17 to Dec 1
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardNov 17 to Dec 1
  7. Week of Nov 247 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoNov 24 to Dec 8
  8. Week of Dec 16 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilDec 1 to Dec 15
    • Set transplants outSpinachDec 1 to Dec 22
  9. Week of Dec 154 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishDec 15 to Dec 29
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Dec 15
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipDec 15 to Dec 29
    • Set transplants outBroccoliDec 15 to Dec 29
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutDec 15 to Dec 29
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Dec 15
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Dec 15
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Dec 15
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Dec 15
    • Set transplants outLettuceDec 15 to Dec 22
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Dec 15
  10. Week of Dec 223 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberDec 22 to Dec 29
    • Set transplants outParsleyDec 22 to Dec 29
  11. Week of Dec 292 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonDec 29 to Jan 5
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinDec 29 to Jan 5
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashDec 29 to Jan 5
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashDec 29 to Jan 5
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniDec 29 to Jan 5
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoDec 29 to Jan 5
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Dec 29
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Dec 29
  12. Week of Jan 12Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Jan 12
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Jan 12
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Jan 12
  13. Week of Jan 191 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoJan 19 to Jan 26
    • Set transplants outCucumberJan 19 to Jan 26
    • Set transplants outTomatoJan 19 to Jan 26
  14. Week of Jan 262 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom Jan 26
    • Set transplants outEggplantJan 26 to Feb 2
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom Jan 26
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom Jan 26
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom Jan 26
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom Jan 26
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom Jan 26
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom Jan 26

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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