Frost dates by ZIP code: The nearest NOAA stations to your ZIP, 1991-2020 normals
Enter a five-digit ZIP code. PlainClimate finds its center (Census Bureau 2024) and the five nearest NOAA stations with frost dates, and shows each station's last spring and first autumn 32°F dates with its distance and elevation.
Frost dates near ZIP 86442
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts ZIP 86442 in zone 10a (the coldest night of a typical year: 30 to 35°F).
The nearest station, Bullhead City, AZ, is 4 miles from the ZIP's center: its last spring frost comes after January 4 in half of years and after February 5 in one year in ten. By the USDA's method its plant hardiness zone is 10a.
| Station | Distance | Elevation | Last frost (median) | 1 in 10 after | First frost (median) | Hardiness zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullhead City, AZ | 4 mi | 531 ft | January 4 | February 5 | December 23 | 10a |
| Laughlin, NV | 6 mi | 605 ft | January 5 | February 13 | December 24 | – |
| Needles, CANeedles Airport | 22 mi | 890 ft | January 6 | February 10 | January 2 | 10a |
| Yucca, AZ1 mi NNE | 28 mi | 1,950 ft | February 18 | March 16 | December 2 | 9b |
| Searchlight, NV | 33 mi | 3,540 ft | March 7 | April 10 | November 29 | 9a |
Frost comes later in spring at higher and colder stations and earlier in low, open ground: prefer a station at a similar elevation to yours. Hardiness zone in the table: the USDA's rule (the average of each year's coldest night, 1991-2020) applied to the station's own record.
Every frost threshold at Bullhead City
NOAA publishes the dates for several temperatures and odds. A 30% spring date means a 3-in-10 chance of a later frost (the convention almanacs use); 50% is the median; 10% the cautious date.
| Threshold | Spring, 10% | Spring, 30% | Spring, 50% | Spring, 90% | Autumn, 50% | Autumn, 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F (light frost) | February 28 | February 14 | February 1 | December 31 | December 11 | November 24 |
| 32°F | February 5 | January 15 | January 4 | December 12 | December 23 | December 1 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | January 10 | December 31 | December 26 | December 7 | December 25 | December 7 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals; ZIP centers: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. Autumn 10%: one year in ten has its first frost before this date.