Richmond, VA 23242 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Richmond, VA, ZIP 23242
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/03, about 218 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/04, about 215 frost-free days later.
Richmond sits in USDA Zone 7b (5 to 10°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 7b around Richmond has about 10 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.
The actual range around Richmond's last frost
04/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/19 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/18 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Richmond compares
About 215 days separate Richmond's last and first frost, putting it 13,968 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within VA, it ranks 359 of 1,178.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Richmond's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Richmond can differ from the 23242 normal.