Hamilton, VA 20159 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Hamilton, VA?
Around 04/16 is the usual last spring frost, about 231 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/25, about 189 frost-free days later.
Zone 7a (0 to 5°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 Hamilton, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 8 weeks of growing season left in Hamilton before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/16 isn't a guarantee
04/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/31 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/07 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Hamilton compares
At roughly 189 frost-free days, Hamilton places 21,692 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within VA, it ranks 890 of 1,178.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Hamilton can differ from the 20159 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7a and Hamilton's frost date answer different questions.