Norfolk, VA 23511 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Norfolk, VA?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/16, roughly 200 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/26, about 255 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Norfolk in Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 13 weeks of growing season left in Norfolk before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/26 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/01 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Norfolk compares
About 255 days separate Norfolk's last and first frost, putting it 6,860 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within VA, it ranks 4 of 1,178.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Norfolk's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Norfolk's dates instead of trusting one.