Virginia Beach, VA Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

In a typical year the final freeze of spring reaches Virginia Beach around March 29, and the first freeze of autumn returns around November 12. NOAA's normals call the frost-free stretch between them 230 days long.

Dates at even odds leave half of all years unprotected. The safer pair for Virginia Beach is April 11 in spring, which only one year in ten passes, and November 1 in fall, which one year in ten arrives before. The 100 cities covered here have a median season of 229 days, and Virginia Beach is close to it.

The numbers belong to Oceana NAS, NOAA station USW00013769, which sits 2.6 miles north of the Census Bureau's internal point for Virginia Beach at an elevation of about 20 feet.

Virginia Beach's last spring frost, by chance

NOAA gives March 13 as the date a spring freeze is still ahead in nine years out of ten, March 29 as the date it is still ahead in half of them, and April 11 as the date only one year in ten passes.

From the 90% date to the 10% date is 29 days, a short span next to most cities here, which makes the spring calendar in Virginia Beach steadier than average.

First fall frost in Virginia Beach

A first freeze on or before November 1 happens one fall in ten. By November 12 half of years have had one, and by November 30 nine years in ten have.

The early and late fall dates are 29 days apart, a typical spread for the cities covered here.

How long is the frost-free season in Virginia Beach?

The season is about as long as the middle of these pages. A short year costs just 20 days against a typical one (210 days against 230 days), so a season-length plan for Virginia Beach holds up in most years.

These figures are NOAA's own counts of freeze-free days across its simulated years, which is why they can differ a little from the days between the two typical dates. At Oceana NAS a night at or below 32°F turns up in 100% of years, which means these dates apply every winter.

28°F dates in Virginia Beach

Light frost and hard freeze are well separated in Virginia Beach. In fall the typical 28°F night comes on November 25, 13 days after the first 32°F frost on November 12; in spring the last one comes on March 14, 15 days before the last 32°F frost. Crops that tolerate light frost have that stretch to themselves. One spring in ten still has a 28°F night on or after March 31, and one fall in ten sees the first by November 9.

What this means for planting in Virginia Beach

Counting from March 29, University of New Hampshire Extension puts cabbage transplants out on March 1 and lettuce from March 1 to March 8, ahead of the last frost, and holds peppers until April 12 and beans until March 29 or later. Peas are the exception to the count: University of New Hampshire Extension says to plant them as soon as the soil thaws, whatever the frost date.

Counting from the late date, April 11, instead of the typical one delays every after-frost crop by 13 days. That is the price of a one-in-ten spring that most years will not need.

Of the 34 crops in the fall planner, 32 still have a July-or-later last planting day in Virginia Beach once NC State Extension's days to harvest and University of Georgia Extension's harvest allowance of 18 days are counted back from frost. The other 2 do not. The slowest crop that still fits is collard greens, at 118 days, and it has to be planted by July 6 to beat the early date.

Worked example: the last day for fall broccoli in Virginia Beach

Take fall broccoli in Virginia Beach. NC State Extension lists up to 80 days from transplant to harvest, and University of Georgia Extension adds a harvest allowance of 18 days, so the plants need 98 days before the first frost. Counting back from the typical first frost, November 12, the last planting day is August 6. Counting back from the early date, November 1, it is July 26.

Typical and early differ by just 11 days here, so a gardener can plant on the later of them without taking much more risk.

In spring the same family goes in earlier: counting from March 29, University of New Hampshire Extension puts cabbage transplants out on March 1, weeks ahead of the last frost.

About the Oceana NAS station

The station is 2.6 miles north of the Census Bureau's internal point for Virginia Beach, near enough to be the city's reference record, though not in the same yard.

At about 20 feet, it ranks above 9 and below 90 of the 100 stations used for these pages. Its completeness flag is R, which NOAA uses for a representative record.

Because the Census file has no elevation for Virginia Beach, we cannot say how far your yard is above or below this station. When yours is clearly higher or lower, open the nearby stations in the frost dates tool and favor the colder one.

Virginia Beach compared with nearby cities

All three of the closest cities on these pages are within a hundred miles, led by Norfolk, VA at 16 miles, so their differences show how much a few miles can move a frost date.

• Norfolk, VA lies 16 miles north-west of Virginia Beach. Typical last frost March 16, first frost November 26, 255 days between; its last frost comes 13 days before Virginia Beach's, and it has 25 days more without frost.
• Chesapeake, VA lies 17 miles south-west of Virginia Beach. Typical last frost March 23, first frost November 18, 240 days between; the last frost is 6 days earlier than in Virginia Beach, and the frost-free season is 10 days longer than Virginia Beach's.
• Richmond, VA, 95 miles to the north-west: last frost April 3, first frost November 4, 215 days frost-free; its last frost comes 5 days after Virginia Beach's, and the season runs 15 days shorter.

Put the frost dates to work

To go beyond the crops above, use the spring planting planner and fall planting planner, both set to this station. The frost dates tool shows the full odds for Virginia Beach, and the hardiness zone lookup gives the winter-cold zone for your ZIP code.

Looking for another city? The city frost dates index lists every page, grouped by state.

For Virginia, the state planting pages copy the Extension calendar (Virginia Cooperative Extension) crop by crop and region by region: tomatoes in Virginia, peppers in Virginia, cucumbers in Virginia, summer squash in Virginia, green beans in Virginia, potatoes in Virginia. Set those windows beside the frost dates above.

Where these numbers come from

The frost and freeze dates are NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for 1991–2020 (doi:10.25921/4ek7-fk11), copied from the station's own record without adjustment; NOAA's documentation defines each probability. The Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer places Virginia Beach on the map, and its Vintage 2024 estimates, 454,808 people here, decide which cities get a page.

University of New Hampshire Extension, NC State Extension and University of Georgia Extension supply the planting rules; this page only counts them from the station's dates. The methodology page explains how each figure is checked.

Frost dates are long-term odds, not a forecast. Before you plant, check the local forecast for the coming week, and keep row cover or old sheets handy for the nights the odds get wrong.