Virginia climate

Virginia Plant Hardiness Zones

Virginia’s towns run from zone 6a to zone 8b: the average coldest winter night is 17.2°F at Virginia Beach and -7°F at Monterey.

Hardiness zones in Virginia

In USDA’s colors, neighboring states washed out. Zones follow elevation, coasts and cities down to half a mile. Drawn by WeatherOverTime from the USDA-ARS and Oregon State University PRISM Climate Group 2023 GIS data; this is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

Map of the 2023 plant hardiness zones across Virginia, from zone 5b to zone 8b, with the state’s border drawn.
  • 5b
  • 6a
  • 6b
  • 7a
  • 7b
  • 8a
  • 8b

Open the live map with plant hardiness zones

Towns by zone

Each town’s 1991-2020 average annual extreme minimum at its center, read from the map’s 800 m grid. Warmest zone first.

8b Zone 8b, 15 to 20°F 11 towns

8a Zone 8a, 10 to 15°F 46 towns

7b Zone 7b, 5 to 10°F 215 towns

7a Zone 7a, 0 to 5°F 174 towns

6b Zone 6b, -5 to 0°F 11 towns

6a Zone 6a, -10 to -5°F 1 towns

Counties

At the county’s center; a county with hills or a coast spans several zones.

CountyZone at the centerAverage coldest night
Accomack County8a13.7°F
Albemarle County7b7.4°F
Alleghany County7a3.4°F
Amelia County7b6°F
Amherst County7b5.3°F
Appomattox County7b6.2°F
Arlington County7b9.3°F
Augusta County7a2.8°F
Bath County6b-0.5°F
Bedford County7b7.7°F
Bland County6b-2°F
Botetourt County7b5.1°F
Brunswick County7b9.1°F
Buchanan County7a1°F
Buckingham County7b5°F
Campbell County7b5.2°F
Caroline County7b6°F
Carroll County7b5°F
Charles City County7b9°F
Charlotte County7b7°F
Chesterfield County7b6.7°F
City of Alexandria8a11.3°F
City of Bristol7a4.8°F
City of Buena Vista7a4.8°F
City of Charlottesville7b6.3°F
City of Chesapeake8a12.6°F
City of Colonial Heights7b8.9°F
City of Covington7a4.3°F
City of Danville7b9°F
City of Emporia7b9.9°F
City of Fairfax7b5.6°F
City of Falls Church7b8.3°F
City of Franklin8a10.6°F
City of Fredericksburg7b6.1°F
City of Galax7a2.6°F
City of Hampton8b15.6°F
City of Harrisonburg7a1.9°F
City of Hopewell8a10.5°F
City of Lexington7a3.4°F
City of Lynchburg7b5.1°F
City of Manassas7a3.9°F
City of Manassas Park7a4.5°F
City of Martinsville7b5.1°F
City of Newport News8a14.5°F
City of Norfolk8b16.4°F
City of Norton7a0.5°F
City of Petersburg7b9.2°F
City of Poquoson8b15.4°F
City of Portsmouth8b15.3°F
City of Radford7a3.4°F
City of Richmond7b7.1°F
City of Roanoke7b8.8°F
City of Salem7b8.8°F
City of Staunton7a3.2°F
City of Suffolk8a12.1°F
City of Virginia Beach8b16.5°F
City of Waynesboro7a3.5°F
City of Williamsburg8a11.5°F
City of Winchester7a3.8°F
Clarke County7a3.4°F
Craig County7a2.6°F
Culpeper County7a4.3°F
Cumberland County7b5.9°F
Dickenson County7a0.1°F
Dinwiddie County7b7.6°F
Essex County7b8.1°F
Fairfax County7b6.5°F
Fauquier County7a4.5°F
Floyd County7a3.2°F
Fluvanna County7a1.3°F
Franklin County7b6.7°F
Frederick County7a3.1°F
Giles County7a2.6°F
Gloucester County8a11.1°F
Goochland County7a4.2°F
Grayson County6b-2.5°F
Greene County7b6.9°F
Greensville County8a10°F
Halifax County7b7.2°F
Hanover County7b6.1°F
Henrico County7b8.5°F
Henry County7b6°F
Highland County6a-9.3°F
Isle of Wight County8a10.8°F
James City County8a10.3°F
King and Queen County7b8°F
King George County7b6.5°F
King William County7b8°F
Lancaster County8a10.2°F
Lee County7a2.5°F
Loudoun County7a4.9°F
Louisa County7a4°F
Lunenburg County7b7.5°F
Madison County7a4.4°F
Mathews County8a13.3°F
Mecklenburg County7b8.8°F
Middlesex County8a10.3°F
Montgomery County7a3.9°F
Nelson County7b5.5°F
New Kent County7b8.5°F
Northampton County8a14.2°F
Northumberland County8a10.1°F
Nottoway County7b5.8°F
Orange County7a4.7°F
Page County7a2.6°F
Patrick County7b7.3°F
Pittsylvania County7a4.4°F
Powhatan County7b5°F
Prince Edward County7b6.5°F
Prince George County7b8.4°F
Prince William County7a4.1°F
Pulaski County7a3.4°F
Rappahannock County7a4.3°F
Richmond County7b9.6°F
Roanoke County7b6.6°F
Rockbridge County7a3.4°F
Rockingham County7a1.2°F
Russell County7a0.9°F
Scott County7a2.8°F
Shenandoah County7a0.8°F
Smyth County7a0.9°F
Southampton County7b9.8°F
Spotsylvania County7a4.9°F
Stafford County7a4.1°F
Surry County7b9.7°F
Sussex County7b9°F
Tazewell County7a0.7°F
Warren County7a4.7°F
Washington County7a2.8°F
Westmoreland County7b8.6°F
Wise County7a0.4°F
Wythe County7a0.9°F
York County8a13.4°F

The zones

A plant hardiness zone is set by the average of each winter’s single coldest temperature, 1991 to 2020: zones are 10°F apart and each half zone, a and b, 5°F. It says how cold a winter night usually gets, not the coldest it has ever been, and nothing about summer heat, rain or soil. Plant labels give the coldest zone a perennial survives in.

ZoneAverage coldest nightIn Celsius
6a-10 to -5°F-23.3 to -20.6°C
6b-5 to 0°F-20.6 to -17.8°C
7a0 to 5°F-17.8 to -15.0°C
7b5 to 10°F-15.0 to -12.2°C
8a10 to 15°F-12.2 to -9.4°C
8b15 to 20°F-9.4 to -6.7°C

Sources

Hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, from the GIS data of the PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, which may be freely reproduced and redistributed. Drawn by WeatherOverTime from the USDA-ARS and Oregon State University PRISM Climate Group 2023 GIS data; this is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.