Needles, CA 86440 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Needles, CA?
Around 01/06 is the usual last spring frost, about 131 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 01/02, about 365 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Needles 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 18 weeks of growing season left in Needles before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Needles's last frost
01/06 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/10 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 Needles compares
Needles's growing season runs about 365 days, ranking 1,896 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 877 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Needles can differ from the 86440 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9b and Needles's frost date answer different questions.