Tempe, AZ 85281 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Tempe, AZ, ZIP 85281
Around 02/13 is the usual last spring frost, about 169 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/05, about 298 frost-free days later.
Tempe sits in USDA Zone 9b (25 to 30°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 9b around Tempe has about 14 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
Why 02/13 isn't a guarantee
02/13 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/12 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/09 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Tempe compares
At roughly 298 frost-free days, Tempe places 4,196 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within AZ, it ranks 267 of 506.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Tempe can differ from the 85281 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 9b and Tempe's frost date answer different questions.