When to plant in Newark, CA

Planting dates worked out from Newark's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Frost is rare in Newark: in 18 of the last 30 springs there was none at all. Frost dates matter less here than heat, so the planting table below is left out.

Safe to plant out

Jan 24

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jan 10

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Dec 26

1 year in 10 by Dec 17

Frost-free days

356

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Newark · 1.8 km away · station 3 m, town 6 m. How we match towns to stations

Newark's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Last spring frost
1943	Feb 11
1944	Mar 26
1945	Apr 10
1946	Feb 14
1947	Feb 3
1948	Mar 15
1949	Feb 14
1950	Mar 13
1951	Mar 5
1952	Jan 10
1953	Mar 14
1959	Jan 3
1960	Jan 17
1961	Jan 20
1963	Jan 21
1964	Mar 7
1966	Mar 3
1968	Jan 8
1969	Jan 11
1973	Jan 8
1975	Jan 30
1976	Feb 6
1979	Jan 29
1989	Feb 8
1990	Feb 16
1992	Jan 24
1993	Jan 6
1997	Jan 14
1999	Jan 27
2004	Jan 4
2007	Jan 15
2009	Jan 4
2011	Jan 20
2012	Jan 18
2013	Jan 22
2018	Mar 19
2020	Feb 6

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1943	306
1944	279
1945	245
1946	262
1947	275
1950	292
1951	277
1952	319
1953	286
1959	337
1960	325
1961	300
1965	349
1966	299
1967	338
1968	346
1969	353
1970	363
1972	341
1973	356
1974	359
1976	313
1977	363
1978	340
1979	335
1980	363
1981	363
1986	363
1987	348
1988	361
1989	325
1990	306
1991	363
1992	327
1993	346
1994	363
1995	363
1996	363
1997	345
1998	353
1999	337
2000	363
2001	363
2002	363
2003	361
2004	360
2005	363
2006	351
2007	349
2008	352
2009	337
2010	363
2011	344
2012	346
2013	320
2014	363
2015	363
2016	363
2017	363
2018	286
2019	330
2020	327

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1943	16.9 °C
1944	16.1 °C
1945	16.3 °C
1946	16.1 °C
1947	16.9 °C
1948	16.2 °C
1949	19.2 °C
1950	16.6 °C
1951	16.2 °C
1952	16.6 °C
1953	16.6 °C
1959	17.1 °C
1960	17.4 °C
1961	17.4 °C
1964	16.8 °C
1965	16.7 °C
1966	17.2 °C
1967	17.1 °C
1968	17.2 °C
1969	18.2 °C
1970	17.7 °C
1971	17.1 °C
1972	17.5 °C
1973	17.9 °C
1974	17.4 °C
1975	17.1 °C
1976	17.7 °C
1977	17.3 °C
1978	18.1 °C
1979	18.5 °C
1980	17.8 °C
1981	18.9 °C
1986	17.8 °C
1987	18.4 °C
1988	18.1 °C
1989	17.9 °C
1990	18.1 °C
1991	16.5 °C
1992	18.2 °C
1993	18.1 °C
1994	17.9 °C
1995	18.4 °C
1996	18.9 °C
1997	19.6 °C
1998	17.7 °C
1999	17.3 °C
2000	19.0 °C
2001	18.7 °C
2002	18.3 °C
2003	18.5 °C
2004	18.8 °C
2005	18.0 °C
2006	18.4 °C
2007	18.1 °C
2008	18.1 °C
2009	18.2 °C
2010	17.2 °C
2011	17.5 °C
2012	17.4 °C
2013	18.4 °C
2014	19.0 °C
2015	19.0 °C
2016	18.1 °C
2017	19.1 °C
2018	17.9 °C
2019	18.4 °C
2020	19.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1943, Newark's last spring frost has come about 4 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 8 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Newark (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Fremont Union City East Palo Alto Palo Alto Menlo Park Atherton