Needles, CA 86446 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Needles, CA, ZIP 86446
The last spring frost here typically falls around 01/06, about 131 days from today. 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 9a (20 to 25°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 9a around Needles has about 18 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 02/10 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 1,897 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 878 of 2,555.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Needles's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Needles can differ from the 86446 normal.