Salem, VA 24153 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Salem, VA, ZIP 24153
Around 04/03 is the usual last spring frost, about 218 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/01, about 210 frost-free days later.
Salem sits in USDA Zone 7b (5 to 10°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
Zone 7b around Salem has about 9 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/19 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/18 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Salem compares
At roughly 210 frost-free days, Salem places 14,977 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within VA, it ranks 425 of 1,178.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Salem can differ from the 24153 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7b and Salem's frost date answer different questions.