FrostDateCheck

Irvine, CA 92604 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Irvine, CA?

Zone 10a

The last spring frost here typically falls around 01/05, about 130 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/25, about 365 frost-free days later.

Zone 10a (30 to 35°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 Irvine, not a forecast for this year.

What to do before the first frost

About 17 weeks of growing season left in Irvine before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

How much risk comes with planting early here

01/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/02 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Irvine compares

At roughly 365 frost-free days, Irvine places 247 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within CA, it ranks 42 of 2,555.

Learn more

the frost range covers how to read the range around Irvine's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Irvine can differ from the 92604 normal.