Amherst, VA 22922 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Amherst, VA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/15, about 230 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/25, about 193 frost-free days later.
Zone 7b (5 to 10°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 Amherst, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 8 weeks of growing season left in Amherst before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/15 isn't a guarantee
04/15 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. 05/04 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Amherst compares
At roughly 193 frost-free days, Amherst places 19,945 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within VA, it ranks 773 of 1,178.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Amherst's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Amherst can differ from the 22922 normal.