FrostDateCheck

Richmond, VA 23111 Frost Dates

Richmond, VA: when does the frost end?

Zone 7b

Around 04/03 is the usual last spring frost, about 218 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/04, roughly 215 days after the last spring frost.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Richmond 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

With roughly 10 weeks until Richmond's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.

Why 04/03 isn't a guarantee

04/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/19 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/18 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.

Richmond against the rest of the dataset

At roughly 215 frost-free days, Richmond places 13,949 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within VA, it ranks 340 of 1,178.

Learn more

Before leaning on 23111's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Richmond can differ from the 23111 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7b and Richmond's frost date answer different questions.