Scottsdale, AZ 85288 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Scottsdale, AZ, ZIP 85288
Around 01/06 is the usual last spring frost, about 131 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/26, about 353 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Scottsdale in Zone 9b (25 to 30°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 9b around Scottsdale has about 17 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
01/06 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/07 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/16 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Scottsdale compares
About 353 days separate Scottsdale's last and first frost, putting it 2,207 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within AZ, it ranks 57 of 506.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 9b and Scottsdale's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Scottsdale's dates instead of trusting one.