Frost dates for Somerset, Virginia
Half of years have their last spring frost by April 17, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 6.
A frost date is really a percentile from 30 years of records at a nearby weather station: in about half of years a frost still comes after the median date. Both numbers are below, so you can choose the risk yourself.
The odds
Last spring frost
How often a frost still comes on or after each date.
- 1 year in 10
- May 6
- 1 year in 5
- April 28
- 3 years in 10
- April 22
- 2 years in 5
- April 19
- Half of years (the median)
- April 17
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 9
- 1 year in 5
- October 13
- 3 years in 10
- October 17
- 2 years in 5
- October 20
- Half of years (the median)
- October 22
- Growing season
- about 188 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 7a, 7b
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 30 °C85 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- June to September, in hot, long days (how we know)
Summer and rain
A growing garden needs about 25 mm1 in of water a week, rain and watering together. Here is what a normal month brings.
Month by month
- January
- high ~7 °C45 °F · low ~-4 °C24 °F · rain ~76 mm3 in
- February
- high ~9 °C48 °F · low ~-3 °C26 °F · rain ~69 mm2.7 in
- March
- high ~14 °C56 °F · low ~0 °C33 °F · rain ~92 mm3.6 in
- April
- high ~20 °C67 °F · low ~6 °C43 °F · rain ~90 mm3.5 in
- May
- high ~24 °C75 °F · low ~12 °C53 °F · rain ~116 mm4.6 in
- June
- high ~28 °C83 °F · low ~17 °C62 °F · rain ~122 mm4.8 in
- July
- high ~31 °C87 °F · low ~18 °C65 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
- August
- high ~30 °C86 °F · low ~18 °C64 °F · rain ~93 mm3.6 in
- September
- high ~26 °C79 °F · low ~13 °C56 °F · rain ~116 mm4.6 in
- October
- high ~20 °C69 °F · low ~7 °C44 °F · rain ~92 mm3.6 in
- November
- high ~14 °C58 °F · low ~1 °C34 °F · rain ~88 mm3.5 in
- December
- high ~9 °C49 °F · low ~-2 °C28 °F · rain ~89 mm3.5 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Somerset station (listed by NOAA as Somerset, USC00447904), at 38.25, -78.27. These are that station’s own records, unshifted. The further your garden is from it, the less exactly they describe your ground. The planner finds the nearest station to your garden and lowers its confidence with distance, so no number is presented as if it were measured in your garden.
Cold air also pools in low ground on the clear, still nights when frost happens, so a hollow can freeze while a slope a few hundred feet away does not. No table can know that about your garden. A few seasons of your own logged frosts can.
ZIP codes nearest this station
22542, 22567, 22709, 22715, 22723, 22729, 22730, 22731, 22732, 22733, 22738, 22923…
+7 moreShow fewer
22942, 22948, 22960, 22968, 22972, 22989, 23093.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Warrenton 3 SE, VA, last frost by April 9
- Corbin, VA, last frost by April 14
- Ashland Hanover County Municipal Airport, VA, last frost by April 10
- Purcellville, VA, last frost by April 16
- Vienna, VA, last frost by April 14
- Washington Reagan Airport, VA, last frost by March 24
Other stations in Virginia.
- W Point 2 NW, VA, last frost by April 6
- Roanoke Regional Airport, VA, last frost by April 3
- Painter 2 W, VA, last frost by April 4
- Fentress NAAS, VA, last frost by March 23
- Richlands, VA, last frost by April 27
- Breaks Interstate Park, VA, last frost by April 22
- Big Stone Gap, VA, last frost by April 20
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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