Santa Cruz, CA 95061 Frost Dates
Santa Cruz, CA: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 01/29, about 154 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 12/13, roughly 323 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Santa Cruz in Zone 10a (30 to 35°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 15 weeks until Santa Cruz's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
01/29 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 02/28 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 12/25 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Santa Cruz against the rest of the dataset
Santa Cruz's growing season runs about 323 days, ranking 3,255 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 1,385 of 2,555.
Learn more
Before leaning on 95061's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Santa Cruz can differ from the 95061 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 10a and Santa Cruz's frost date answer different questions.