Cave Creek, AZ 85286 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Cave Creek, AZ?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 02/04, about 160 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/16, about 313 frost-free days later.
Cave Creek 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
About 16 weeks of growing season left in Cave Creek before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
02/04 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/03 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 Cave Creek compares
About 313 days separate Cave Creek's last and first frost, putting it 3,447 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within AZ, it ranks 219 of 506.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Cave Creek can differ from the 85286 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9b and Cave Creek's frost date answer different questions.