Chesapeake, VA 23328 Frost Dates
23328, near Chesapeake, VA: the frost window
Around 03/23 is the usual last spring frost, about 207 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/18, roughly 240 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Chesapeake in Zone 8a (10 to 15°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
Chesapeake's growing season runs out in roughly 12 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 03/23 isn't a guarantee
03/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/05 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/07 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Chesapeake against the rest of the dataset
Chesapeake's growing season runs about 240 days, ranking 8,663 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within VA, it ranks 46 of 1,178.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 23328: local microclimates, on what one yard in Chesapeake can differ from the 23328 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 8a and Chesapeake's frost date answer different questions.