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 93944
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts ZIP 93944 in zone 10a (the coldest night of a typical year: 30 to 35°F).
The nearest station, Monterey station, CA, is 1 miles from the ZIP's center: a night at 32°F or colder comes there in only 20% of years, and NOAA's median date of the last spring frost is January 1. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey station, CA | 1 mi | 260 ft | January 1 | January 21 | December 30 | 10a |
| Monterey Weather Office, CA | 4 mi | 122 ft | January 3 | January 24 | December 28 | – |
| Monterey, CAMonterey Peninsul Airport | 4 mi | 165 ft | January 2 | January 20 | December 23 | 10a |
| Carmel Valley, CA | 14 mi | 480 ft | February 20 | March 27 | December 8 | 9b |
| Salinas #2, CA | 15 mi | 45 ft | February 4 | March 11 | December 6 | 9b |
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 Monterey station
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) | March 2 | February 7 | January 19 | December 19 | December 22 | November 30 |
| 32°F | January 21 | January 9 | January 1 | December 11 | December 30 | 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.