Palmdale, CA 93550 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Palmdale, CA?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/10, roughly 194 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/19, about 248 frost-free days later.
Zone 9a (20 to 25°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 Palmdale, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 12 weeks of growing season left in Palmdale before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 03/10 isn't a guarantee
03/10 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/12 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Palmdale compares
Palmdale's growing season runs about 248 days, ranking 7,674 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 2,098 of 2,555.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Palmdale's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Palmdale can differ from the 93550 normal.