FrostDateCheck

Falls Church, VA 22212 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Falls Church, VA?

Zone 8a

Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/09, roughly 224 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/31, about 202 frost-free days later.

Zone 8a (10 to 15°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 Falls Church, not a forecast for this year.

What to do before the first frost

About 9 weeks of growing season left in Falls Church before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

How much risk comes with planting early here

04/09 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/27 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/26 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Falls Church compares

About 202 days separate Falls Church's last and first frost, putting it 17,177 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within VA, it ranks 592 of 1,178.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Falls Church can differ from the 22212 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8a and Falls Church's frost date answer different questions.