Franklin, Louisiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Franklin's normal year runs from 44°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 65.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 20.4°C, January lows of 7°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,658 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFranklin (3 mi NW)
- Station IDUSC00163313
- Location29.82°N 91.54°W
- Elevation12 ft (4 m)
- Population6,284
On October 23, the normal high in Franklin is 78°F and the normal low 57°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Franklin.
- Jan 63° 44°
- Feb 67° 48°
- Mar 72° 53°
- Apr 78° 59°
- May 84° 67°
- Jun 88° 72°
- Jul 90° 74°
- Aug 90° 74°
- Sep 87° 70°
- Oct 80° 60°
- Nov 72° 50°
- Dec 65° 46°
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 Franklin each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 44°F. The most precipitation falls in July (8.01 in), the least in February (4.00 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63°F | 44°F | 53.2°F | 5.63 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 30 min |
| February | 67°F | 48°F | 57.1°F | 4.00 | 8 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 10 min |
| March | 72°F | 53°F | 62.6°F | 4.02 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 12 h |
| April | 78°F | 59°F | 68.4°F | 4.67 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 84°F | 67°F | 75.4°F | 4.68 | 8 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 88°F | 72°F | 80.4°F | 7.63 | 12 | 8 | <1 | 14 h |
| July | 90°F | 74°F | 82.0°F | 8.01 | 14 | 15 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| August | 90°F | 74°F | 82.0°F | 7.62 | 14 | 18 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 87°F | 70°F | 78.6°F | 5.59 | 11 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 80°F | 60°F | 70.3°F | 4.26 | 7 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 72°F | 50°F | 60.8°F | 4.22 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 40 min |
| December | 65°F | 46°F | 55.2°F | 4.94 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 60°F | 68.8°F | 65.27 | 112 | 50 | 10 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°C | 7°C | 11.8°C | 143 mm |
| February | 19°C | 9°C | 13.9°C | 102 mm |
| March | 22°C | 12°C | 17.0°C | 102 mm |
| April | 26°C | 15°C | 20.2°C | 119 mm |
| May | 29°C | 19°C | 24.1°C | 119 mm |
| June | 31°C | 22°C | 26.9°C | 194 mm |
| July | 32°C | 23°C | 27.8°C | 203 mm |
| August | 32°C | 23°C | 27.8°C | 194 mm |
| September | 31°C | 21°C | 25.9°C | 142 mm |
| October | 27°C | 16°C | 21.3°C | 108 mm |
| November | 22°C | 10°C | 16.0°C | 107 mm |
| December | 18°C | 8°C | 12.9°C | 125 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00163313; 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 Franklin?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April, May, October, November and December. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00163313.
When is the last frost in Franklin?
In Franklin, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 11 in half of years and after March 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 8 in half of years and before November 15 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
- February 111 year in 10 after March 11; 9 in 10 after January 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 81 year in 10 before November 15; 9 in 10 before January 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 303 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 340 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 27 in half of springs and before December 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Franklin in zone 9b in ZIP code 70538, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Franklin's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 26°F (27 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Louisiana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00163313; 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 Franklin?
In a normal year in Franklin, 50 days a year reach 90°F, 10 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 112 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 50a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 10a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 112a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 104°F, on June 29, 1914; the lowest is 8°F, on February 13, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1926, with 95.61 in; the snowiest season is 1989–90, with 2.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00163313; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00163313. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Franklin?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Franklin, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. May is the sunniest month (85%) and February the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 3.0 |
| February | 71% | 3.5 |
| March | 78% | 4.8 |
| April | 81% | 5.8 |
| May | 85% | 6.5 |
| June | 83% | 6.4 |
| July | 78% | 5.9 |
| August | 79% | 5.5 |
| September | 82% | 5.2 |
| October | 85% | 4.6 |
| November | 82% | 3.5 |
| December | 73% | 2.7 |
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 Franklin need?
A normal year in Franklin brings 1,333 heating degree days, 75% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,759 cooling degree days, 3.0 times the median (908). Two months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 7,078 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 378 | 13 |
| February | 245 | 24 |
| March | 138 | 63 |
| April | 37 | 140 |
| May | 2 | 323 |
| June | 0 | 462 |
| July | 0 | 527 |
| August | 0 | 529 |
| September | 0 | 410 |
| October | 34 | 198 |
| November | 175 | 49 |
| December | 324 | 22 |
| Year (annual) | 1,333 | 2,759 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00163313. 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 Franklin been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 71.0°F, 2.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 68.8°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69.1°F | +0.3°F | 75.36 |
| 2022 | 68.8°F | at normal | 55.77 |
| 2023 | 71.0°F | +2.2°F | 46.54 |
Over 98 complete years from 1894 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.5°F per century (+0.08°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00163313; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Franklin's climate compare?
Franklin is warmer than 48 of the other 64 places with their own NOAA record in Louisiana, and wetter than 52. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 68.8°F is warmer than 94%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Franklin is Cfa: temperate, 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 Franklin share this climate record?
5 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.
- Baldwin, LA1,665 people · 1 mi NW
- Charenton, LA1,295 people · 3 mi N
- Sorrel, LA695 people · 7 mi NW
- Centerville, LA643 people · 9 mi SE
- Glencoe, LA132 people · 8 mi W
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 Franklin's climate
What is the coldest month in Franklin?
January, with a normal high of 63°F and a normal low of 44°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 74°F at night).
Does it snow in Franklin?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Franklin?
July, with 8.01 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 4.00 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Franklin in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Franklin in zone 9b in ZIP code 70538, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Franklin's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 26°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Franklin?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 11; in one year in ten it comes after March 11. Waiting until March 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Louisiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Jeanerette, LA14 miles from this station, 67.7°F a year
- Salt Point, LA18 miles from this station, 69.9°F a year
- Morgan City, LA24 miles from this station, 70.1°F a year
- New Iberia, LA25 miles from this station, 69.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made