FrostDateCheck

Poway, CA 92175 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Poway, CA?

Zone 10b

The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/04, about 188 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/04, about 270 frost-free days later.

Poway sits in USDA Zone 10b (35 to 40°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.

What to do before the first frost

About 14 weeks of growing season left in Poway before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

The actual range around Poway's last frost

03/04 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/29 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/10 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Poway compares

About 270 days separate Poway's last and first frost, putting it 5,541 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 1,961 of 2,555.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Poway can differ from the 92175 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 10b and Poway's frost date answer different questions.