Monterey, VA 24458 Frost Dates
24458, near Monterey, VA: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/08, about 253 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/05, roughly 148 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Monterey in Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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
Monterey's growing season runs out in roughly 5 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 05/08 isn't a guarantee
05/08 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/23 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/26 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Monterey against the rest of the dataset
About 148 days separate Monterey's last and first frost, putting it 35,807 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within VA, it ranks 1,177 of 1,178.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 24458: local microclimates, on what one yard in Monterey can differ from the 24458 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 6b and Monterey's frost date answer different questions.