Smithfield, VA 23431 Frost Dates
23431, near Smithfield, VA: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/27, about 211 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/15, roughly 233 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Smithfield 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
Smithfield's growing season runs out in roughly 11 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 03/27 isn't a guarantee
03/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/10 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/09 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Smithfield against the rest of the dataset
Smithfield's growing season runs about 233 days, ranking 9,880 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within VA, it ranks 99 of 1,178.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 23431: local microclimates, on what one yard in Smithfield can differ from the 23431 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 8a and Smithfield's frost date answer different questions.