Modesto, CA 95350 Frost Dates
Modesto, CA: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 01/31, roughly 156 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 12/05, roughly 312 days after the last spring frost.
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 Modesto, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 14 weeks until Modesto'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
01/31 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 02/25 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 12/31 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Modesto against the rest of the dataset
Modesto's growing season runs about 312 days, ranking 3,460 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 1,440 of 2,555.
Learn more
Before leaning on 95350's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Modesto can differ from the 95350 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 9b and Modesto's frost date answer different questions.