Etna, CA 96027 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Etna, CA?
Around 05/20 is the usual last spring frost, about 265 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/05, about 135 frost-free days later.
Etna sits in USDA Zone 8a (10 to 15°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Etna before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 05/20 isn't a guarantee
05/20 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/02 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/12 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Etna compares
At roughly 135 frost-free days, Etna places 37,902 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within CA, it ranks 2,449 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Etna can differ from the 96027 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8a and Etna's frost date answer different questions.