Tappahannock, VA 23023 Frost Dates
23023, near Tappahannock, VA: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/07, about 222 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/01, roughly 209 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tappahannock in Zone 7b (5 to 10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Tappahannock's growing season runs out in roughly 9 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/07 isn't a guarantee
04/07 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/24 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/23 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Tappahannock against the rest of the dataset
Tappahannock's growing season runs about 209 days, ranking 15,258 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within VA, it ranks 447 of 1,178.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 23023: local microclimates, on what one yard in Tappahannock can differ from the 23023 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 7b and Tappahannock's frost date answer different questions.