Frost dates for Washington Reagan Airport, Virginia
Half of years have their last spring frost by March 24, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after April 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
- April 6
- 1 year in 5
- April 2
- 3 years in 10
- March 30
- 2 years in 5
- March 27
- Half of years (the median)
- March 24
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- November 5
- 1 year in 5
- November 8
- 3 years in 10
- November 12
- 2 years in 5
- November 15
- Half of years (the median)
- November 18
- Growing season
- about 241 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 7b, 8a
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 31 °C87 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- May 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 ~-1 °C30 °F · rain ~73 mm2.9 in
- February
- high ~9 °C48 °F · low ~0 °C32 °F · rain ~66 mm2.6 in
- March
- high ~14 °C56 °F · low ~4 °C39 °F · rain ~89 mm3.5 in
- April
- high ~20 °C68 °F · low ~9 °C48 °F · rain ~82 mm3.2 in
- May
- high ~25 °C76 °F · low ~14 °C58 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
- June
- high ~30 °C85 °F · low ~20 °C67 °F · rain ~107 mm4.2 in
- July
- high ~32 °C90 °F · low ~22 °C72 °F · rain ~110 mm4.3 in
- August
- high ~31 °C88 °F · low ~22 °C71 °F · rain ~82 mm3.2 in
- September
- high ~27 °C81 °F · low ~18 °C64 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
- October
- high ~21 °C69 °F · low ~11 °C52 °F · rain ~93 mm3.7 in
- November
- high ~15 °C58 °F · low ~5 °C42 °F · rain ~74 mm2.9 in
- December
- high ~9 °C49 °F · low ~1 °C35 °F · rain ~87 mm3.4 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Washington Reagan Airport station (listed by NOAA as Washington Reagan Ap, USW00013743), at 38.85, -77.03. 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
20004, 20006, 20020, 20024, 20032, 20037, 20052, 20053, 20202, 20228, 20230, 20240, 20245, 20260, 20319, 20373, 20405, 20418, 20427, 20506, 20520, 20535, 20551, 20553, 20560, 20565, 20566, 20593, 22041, 22150, 22202, 22204, 22206, 22211, 22214, 22301, 22302, 22304, 22305, 22310, 22311, 22312, 22314.
What can I plant here, and when? ›
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Dalecarlia Rsvr, MD, last frost by April 9
- Vienna, VA, last frost by April 14
- Upper Marlboro 3 NNW, MD, last frost by April 9
- Baltimore Wash International Airport, MD, last frost by April 10
- Mechanicsville 5 NE, MD, last frost by April 17
- Damascus 3 SSW, MD, last frost by April 14
Other stations in Virginia.
- Warrenton 3 SE, VA, last frost by April 9
- Purcellville, VA, last frost by April 16
- Corbin, VA, last frost by April 14
- Somerset, VA, last frost by April 17
- Ashland Hanover County Municipal Airport, VA, last frost by April 10
- W Point 2 NW, VA, last frost by April 6
- Painter 2 W, VA, last frost by April 4
- Fentress NAAS, VA, last frost by March 23