Roanoke, VA 24020 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Roanoke, VA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/11, about 226 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/28, about 198 frost-free days later.
Zone 7b (5 to 10°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Roanoke, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Roanoke before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Roanoke's last frost
04/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/28 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/02 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Roanoke compares
About 198 days separate Roanoke's last and first frost, putting it 18,253 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within VA, it ranks 653 of 1,178.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7b and Roanoke's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Roanoke's dates instead of trusting one.