Hanford, CA 93242 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Hanford, CA?
Around 02/07 is the usual last spring frost, about 163 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/01, about 296 frost-free days later.
Hanford 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
About 14 weeks of growing season left in Hanford before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Hanford's last frost
02/07 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/09 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 Hanford compares
Hanford's growing season runs about 296 days, ranking 4,233 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 1,644 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Hanford can differ from the 93242 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9a and Hanford's frost date answer different questions.