Berkeley, CA 94709 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Berkeley, CA?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 01/03, roughly 128 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 01/01, about 365 frost-free days later.
Berkeley 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
About 18 weeks of growing season left in Berkeley before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Berkeley's last frost
01/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/14 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Berkeley compares
About 365 days separate Berkeley's last and first frost, putting it 435 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 173 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Berkeley can differ from the 94709 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 10a and Berkeley's frost date answer different questions.