Richmond, VA 23291 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Richmond, VA, ZIP 23291
Around 04/03 is the usual last spring frost, about 218 days away. 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.
Why 04/03 isn't a guarantee
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 13,986 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within VA, it ranks 377 of 1,178.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7b and Richmond's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Richmond's dates instead of trusting one.