When to plant in Salton City, CA

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

Frost is rare in Salton City: in 6 of the last 18 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

Feb 17

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jan 17

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Dec 12

1 year in 10 by Nov 24

Frost-free days

329

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Mecca Fire Stn · 32.0 km away · station -56 m, town -38 m. How we match towns to stations

Salton City'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
1906	Jan 29
1907	Jan 20
1913	Mar 27
1914	Feb 27
1915	Jan 20
1916	Feb 2
1917	Mar 23
1918	Feb 19
1919	Mar 11
1921	Feb 16
1922	Mar 12
1923	Mar 16
1924	Jan 26
1925	Jan 19
1926	Feb 18
1927	Feb 2
1928	Feb 18
1929	Mar 2
1930	Mar 2
1931	Mar 7
1932	Feb 4
1933	Feb 27
1942	Feb 21
1943	Feb 12
1946	Feb 10
1947	Jan 31
1948	Feb 13
1949	Feb 16
1950	Feb 1
1951	Feb 28
1952	Mar 14
1953	Mar 3
1954	Mar 13
1955	Feb 24
1956	Mar 13
1958	Jan 24
1959	Jan 21
1960	Feb 13
1962	Mar 15
1963	Jan 23
1964	Feb 28
1965	Mar 3
1966	Mar 4
1967	Jan 20
1969	Feb 20
1970	Feb 3
1971	Mar 7
1972	Feb 4
1974	Feb 9
1975	Feb 24
1976	Jan 26
1977	Mar 1
1979	Mar 20
1980	Feb 12
1982	Feb 4
1983	Jan 22
1984	Mar 6
1985	Mar 3
1986	Feb 11
1987	Jan 22
1988	Feb 18
1989	Feb 13
1991	Mar 10
1992	Jan 23
1994	Feb 13
1996	Feb 27
1998	Jan 8
1999	Jan 5
2009	Jan 5
2011	Feb 4
2013	Jan 16
2015	Jan 4
2016	Feb 4
2019	Jan 3

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1906	294
1913	251
1914	273
1915	295
1916	285
1917	259
1918	283
1919	261
1920	336
1921	275
1922	236
1923	257
1924	325
1925	331
1926	299
1927	306
1928	273
1929	265
1930	262
1931	259
1932	305
1942	289
1946	321
1947	296
1948	288
1949	297
1950	282
1952	256
1953	277
1954	283
1955	309
1956	235
1957	332
1959	339
1960	298
1963	323
1964	288
1965	290
1966	301
1967	334
1969	295
1972	298
1974	290
1976	306
1977	304
1979	245
1981	363
1982	315
1983	309
1986	292
1987	320
1988	274
1989	288
1991	259
1994	279
1995	363
1996	278
1997	345
1998	334
1999	321
2005	348
2011	302
2013	322
2014	360
2015	329
2016	329
2017	363
2018	363

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1906	27.8 °C
1907	26.7 °C
1913	27.6 °C
1914	28.7 °C
1915	27.6 °C
1916	28.4 °C
1917	28.3 °C
1918	28.7 °C
1919	28.9 °C
1920	28.0 °C
1921	27.9 °C
1922	29.1 °C
1923	28.1 °C
1924	29.3 °C
1925	29.0 °C
1926	28.9 °C
1927	28.1 °C
1928	28.0 °C
1929	28.5 °C
1930	27.5 °C
1931	29.2 °C
1932	28.8 °C
1942	28.2 °C
1943	29.2 °C
1946	29.4 °C
1947	29.4 °C
1948	28.6 °C
1949	28.6 °C
1950	28.6 °C
1952	28.8 °C
1953	27.3 °C
1954	28.6 °C
1955	27.6 °C
1956	28.4 °C
1957	28.7 °C
1958	28.2 °C
1959	28.5 °C
1960	28.9 °C
1961	27.7 °C
1963	27.3 °C
1964	26.7 °C
1966	28.9 °C
1967	27.8 °C
1969	29.3 °C
1971	27.7 °C
1972	28.8 °C
1974	28.7 °C
1976	28.0 °C
1977	28.5 °C
1978	28.4 °C
1979	28.8 °C
1981	29.8 °C
1983	27.9 °C
1985	28.2 °C
1986	28.6 °C
1987	28.9 °C
1988	28.3 °C
1989	29.3 °C
1991	28.6 °C
1992	29.9 °C
1994	29.9 °C
1995	28.9 °C
1996	30.2 °C
1997	29.9 °C
1998	28.4 °C
1999	28.6 °C
2005	29.8 °C
2007	29.5 °C
2013	30.2 °C
2014	30.2 °C
2015	30.0 °C
2016	29.6 °C
2017	30.8 °C
2018	31.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1906, Salton City's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 5 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Desert Shores Oasis Mecca Borrego Springs Niland Thermal