Novato, CA 94947 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Novato, CA, ZIP 94947
Around 01/11 is the usual last spring frost, about 136 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/21, about 349 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Novato in Zone 9b (25 to 30°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 9b around Novato has about 16 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.
The actual range around Novato's last frost
01/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/25 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 Novato compares
About 349 days separate Novato's last and first frost, putting it 2,330 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 1,036 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Novato can differ from the 94947 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 9b and Novato's frost date answer different questions.