Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, ZIP 93921
Around 01/01 is the usual last spring frost, about 126 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/30, about 365 frost-free days later.
Carmel-by-the-Sea sits in USDA Zone 10a (30 to 35°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
Zone 10a around Carmel-by-the-Sea has about 18 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
01/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/21 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Carmel-by-the-Sea compares
About 365 days separate Carmel-by-the-Sea's last and first frost, putting it 1,920 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 889 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Carmel-by-the-Sea can differ from the 93921 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 10a and Carmel-by-the-Sea's frost date answer different questions.