Ridgecrest, CA 92328 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Ridgecrest, CA, ZIP 92328
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 02/15, roughly 171 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/28, about 285 frost-free days later.
Ridgecrest sits in USDA Zone 9a (20 to 25°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
Zone 9a around Ridgecrest has about 13 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
02/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/21 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/04 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Ridgecrest compares
About 285 days separate Ridgecrest's last and first frost, putting it 4,624 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 1,723 of 2,555.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Ridgecrest's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Ridgecrest can differ from the 92328 normal.