Frankfort, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Frankfort's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 43.3 inches of precipitation and 24 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.9°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,099 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFrankfort Disposal
- Station IDUSC00123082
- Location40.30°N 86.51°W
- Elevation824 ft (251 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population16,459
On October 14, the normal high in Frankfort is 66°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 32%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Frankfort.
- Jan 34° 19°
- Feb 38° 22°
- Mar 50° 31°
- Apr 62° 41°
- May 73° 52°
- Jun 81° 61°
- Jul 84° 64°
- Aug 82° 62°
- Sep 77° 54°
- Oct 65° 44°
- Nov 50° 33°
- Dec 39° 24°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Frankfort each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.29 in), the least in February (2.53 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 19°F | 26.3°F | 3.02 | 9.0 | 13 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 38°F | 22°F | 30.1°F | 2.53 | 6.2 | 11 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 50°F | 31°F | 40.2°F | 3.12 | 2.7 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 41°F | 51.6°F | 4.07 | 0.6 | 13 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 52°F | 62.2°F | 4.40 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 81°F | 61°F | 71.0°F | 5.29 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 84°F | 64°F | 73.6°F | 4.75 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 82°F | 62°F | 72.1°F | 3.39 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 54°F | 65.8°F | 3.06 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 44°F | 54.3°F | 3.26 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 33°F | 41.7°F | 3.47 | 0.9 | 11 | <1 | 15 | 10 h |
| December | 39°F | 24°F | 31.4°F | 2.91 | 4.7 | 13 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 42°F | 51.7°F | 43.27 | 24.1 | 139 | 13 | 119 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −7°C | −3.2°C | 77 mm | 23 cm |
| February | 3°C | −6°C | −1.1°C | 64 mm | 16 cm |
| March | 10°C | −1°C | 4.6°C | 79 mm | 7 cm |
| April | 17°C | 5°C | 10.9°C | 103 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 23°C | 11°C | 16.8°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 16°C | 21.7°C | 134 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.1°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 17°C | 22.3°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 12°C | 18.8°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 7°C | 12.4°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 10°C | 1°C | 5.4°C | 88 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 4°C | −4°C | −0.3°C | 74 mm | 12 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00123082; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Frankfort?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00123082.
When is the last frost in Frankfort?
In Frankfort, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 21 in half of years and after May 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 6 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 211 year in 10 after May 7; 9 in 10 after April 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 6; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 181 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 206 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 7 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Frankfort in zone 6a in ZIP code 46041, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Frankfort's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Indiana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00123082; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Frankfort?
In a normal year in Frankfort, 13 days a year reach 90°F, 119 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 139 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 119a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 36high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 139a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 10a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1914) is 108°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −26°F, on December 24, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2017, with 54.55 in; the snowiest season is 2013–14, with 82.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00123082; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00123082. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Frankfort?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Frankfort, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 61% | 1.8 |
| February | 64% | 2.6 |
| March | 67% | 3.7 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 78% | 6.2 |
| July | 81% | 6.2 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 80% | 4.5 |
| October | 72% | 3.1 |
| November | 67% | 2.1 |
| December | 59% | 1.5 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Frankfort need?
A normal year in Frankfort brings 5,718 heating degree days, 6% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 899 cooling degree days, 1% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,326 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,199 | 0 |
| February | 978 | 0 |
| March | 770 | 2 |
| April | 412 | 9 |
| May | 159 | 72 |
| June | 21 | 201 |
| July | 3 | 270 |
| August | 6 | 226 |
| September | 80 | 104 |
| October | 349 | 16 |
| November | 699 | 0 |
| December | 1,040 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,718 | 899 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00123082. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Frankfort been warmer than normal lately?
2021 averaged 53.1°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 51.7°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.1°F | +1.4°F | 45.05 | 19.0 |
Over 90 complete years from 1916 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.9°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00123082; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Frankfort's climate compare?
Frankfort is warmer than 50 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 48. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.7°F is warmer than 48%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Frankfort is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Frankfort share this climate record?
11 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Rossville, IN1,513 people · 10 mi NW
- Thorntown, IN1,428 people · 13 mi SW
- Mulberry, IN1,222 people · 9 mi W
- Kirklin, IN710 people · 11 mi SE
- Colfax, IN703 people · 11 mi SW
- Clarks Hill, IN619 people · 12 mi W
- Michigantown, IN423 people · 6 mi E
- Antioch, IN182 people · 5 mi S
- Jefferson, IN169 people · 5 mi W
- Hillisburg, IN96 people · 9 mi E
- Scircleville, IN83 people · 11 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Frankfort's climate
What is the coldest month in Frankfort?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Frankfort?
Yes: 24 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (9.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Frankfort?
June, with 5.29 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.53 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Frankfort in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Frankfort in zone 6a in ZIP code 46041, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Frankfort's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Frankfort?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 21; in one year in ten it comes after May 7. Waiting until May 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Young America, IN20 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Kokomo, IN21 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Tipton, IN22 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Whitestown, IN22 miles from this station, 51.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made