Irvine, CA 92871 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Irvine, CA, ZIP 92871
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 01/05, roughly 130 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/25, about 365 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Irvine in Zone 10b (35 to 40°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 10b around Irvine has about 17 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.
The actual range around Irvine's last frost
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
About 365 days separate Irvine's last and first frost, putting it 295 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 90 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Irvine can differ from the 92871 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 10b and Irvine's frost date answer different questions.