Poway, CA 92036 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Poway, CA, ZIP 92036
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/19, about 234 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/27, about 190 frost-free days later.
Zone 9b (25 to 30°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Poway, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 9b around Poway has about 9 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.
Why 04/19 isn't a guarantee
04/19 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/24 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Poway compares
About 190 days separate Poway's last and first frost, putting it 21,023 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 2,314 of 2,555.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 9b and Poway's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Poway's dates instead of trusting one.