Fairfax, VA 22161 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Fairfax, VA, ZIP 22161
Around 04/14 is the usual last spring frost, about 229 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/29, about 198 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fairfax in Zone 7b (5 to 10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 7b around Fairfax has about 9 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/14 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/28 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Fairfax compares
At roughly 198 frost-free days, Fairfax places 18,343 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within VA, it ranks 683 of 1,178.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Fairfax can differ from the 22161 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7b and Fairfax's frost date answer different questions.