Redding, CA 96073 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Redding, CA, ZIP 96073
Around 03/03 is the usual last spring frost, about 187 days away. 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 Redding, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 9a around Redding 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.
The actual range around Redding's last frost
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 Redding compares
Redding's growing season runs about 261 days, ranking 6,268 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 2,037 of 2,555.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Redding's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Redding can differ from the 96073 normal.