East Palo Alto, CA 94301 Frost Dates
When can you plant in East Palo Alto, CA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 02/01, about 157 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/07, about 310 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 East Palo Alto, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 14 weeks of growing season left in East Palo Alto before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 02/01 isn't a guarantee
02/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/04 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/28 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How East Palo Alto compares
About 310 days separate East Palo Alto's last and first frost, putting it 3,565 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 1,481 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in East Palo Alto can differ from the 94301 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9b and East Palo Alto's frost date answer different questions.