Shasta Lake, CA 96069 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Shasta Lake, CA, ZIP 96069
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/03, about 187 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/21, about 261 frost-free days later.
Zone 9a (20 to 25°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 Shasta Lake, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 9a around Shasta Lake has about 12 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
Why 03/03 isn't a guarantee
03/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/31 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/09 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Shasta Lake compares
About 261 days separate Shasta Lake's last and first frost, putting it 6,396 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 2,045 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Shasta Lake can differ from the 96069 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 9a and Shasta Lake's frost date answer different questions.