Tucson, AZ 85710 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Tucson, AZ?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 01/26, about 151 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/16, about 326 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tucson 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
About 16 weeks of growing season left in Tucson before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Tucson's last frost
01/26 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/25 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/24 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Tucson compares
About 326 days separate Tucson's last and first frost, putting it 3,203 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within AZ, it ranks 191 of 506.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Tucson can differ from the 85710 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9b and Tucson's frost date answer different questions.