Modesto, CA 95354 Frost Dates
Modesto, CA: when does the frost end?
Around 01/31 is the usual last spring frost, about 156 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 12/05, roughly 312 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Modesto in Zone 9b (25 to 30°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 14 weeks until Modesto's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 01/31 isn't a guarantee
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
At roughly 312 frost-free days, Modesto places 3,462 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within CA, it ranks 1,442 of 2,555.
Learn more
Before leaning on 95354's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Modesto can differ from the 95354 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 9b and Modesto's frost date answer different questions.