Morro Bay, CA 93442 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Morro Bay, CA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 01/19, about 144 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 01/14, about 365 frost-free days later.
Zone 9b (25 to 30°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 Morro Bay, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 20 weeks of growing season left in Morro Bay 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
01/19 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/09 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/30 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Morro Bay compares
At roughly 365 frost-free days, Morro Bay places 1,731 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within CA, it ranks 852 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Morro Bay can differ from the 93442 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9b and Morro Bay's frost date answer different questions.