Portsmouth, VA 23702 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Portsmouth, VA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/23, about 207 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/16, about 239 frost-free days later.
Portsmouth sits in USDA Zone 8a (10 to 15°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
About 11 weeks of growing season left in Portsmouth 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
03/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/07 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/06 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Portsmouth compares
About 239 days separate Portsmouth's last and first frost, putting it 8,763 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within VA, it ranks 67 of 1,178.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Portsmouth's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Portsmouth can differ from the 23702 normal.