Dunsmuir, CA 96017 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Dunsmuir, CA?
Around 04/23 is the usual last spring frost, about 238 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/27, about 185 frost-free days later.
Zone 8b (15 to 20°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 Dunsmuir, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Dunsmuir before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Dunsmuir's last frost
04/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/05 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/12 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Dunsmuir compares
Dunsmuir's growing season runs about 185 days, ranking 23,205 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 2,326 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Dunsmuir can differ from the 96017 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Dunsmuir's frost date answer different questions.