Franklin, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Franklin's normal year runs from 26°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 55.5 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.4°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,410 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFranklin
- Station IDUSC00313228
- Location35.18°N 83.39°W
- Elevation2,125 ft (648 m)
- Population4,362
On October 22, the normal high in Franklin is 68°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Franklin.
- Jan 48° 26°
- Feb 53° 29°
- Mar 60° 35°
- Apr 69° 42°
- May 76° 51°
- Jun 82° 60°
- Jul 84° 64°
- Aug 83° 63°
- Sep 79° 57°
- Oct 70° 44°
- Nov 60° 33°
- Dec 51° 29°
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 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in January (5.34 in), the least in October (3.76 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F | 26°F | 37.2°F | 5.34 | 1.0 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 10 h |
| February | 53°F | 29°F | 40.7°F | 4.44 | 0.7 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 60°F | 35°F | 47.6°F | 4.91 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 42°F | 55.4°F | 4.97 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 13 h |
| May | 76°F | 51°F | 63.3°F | 4.46 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 82°F | 60°F | 70.5°F | 5.00 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 84°F | 64°F | 74.0°F | 4.09 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 83°F | 63°F | 73.1°F | 4.69 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 79°F | 57°F | 67.6°F | 4.33 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 44°F | 57.1°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 33°F | 46.5°F | 4.32 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 51°F | 29°F | 40.0°F | 5.19 | 0.7 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 44°F | 56.1°F | 55.50 | 2.6 | 122 | 6 | 108 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −3°C | 2.9°C | 136 mm | 3 cm |
| February | 11°C | −2°C | 4.8°C | 113 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 16°C | 2°C | 8.7°C | 125 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 21°C | 5°C | 13.0°C | 126 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 11°C | 17.4°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 127 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.3°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 17°C | 22.8°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 14°C | 19.8°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | 1°C | 8.1°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 11°C | −2°C | 4.4°C | 132 mm | 2 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00313228; 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 April, May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00313228.
When is the last frost in Franklin?
In Franklin, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 17 in half of years and after May 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 11 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 171 year in 10 after May 4; 9 in 10 after April 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 187 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 210 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 5 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Franklin in zone 7b in ZIP code 28734, 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 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (17 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00313228; 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, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 108 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 122 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 108a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 122a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1882) is 101°F, on July 29, 1952; the lowest is −15°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2020, with 73.86 in; the snowiest season is 1987–88, with 22.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00313228; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00313228. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Franklin?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Franklin, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (77%) and February the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.5 |
| February | 65% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.3 |
| May | 74% | 5.8 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 77% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.7 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 76% | 2.9 |
| December | 68% | 2.2 |
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 4,126 heating degree days, 23% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 903 cooling degree days, 0% fewer than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,633 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 862 | 0 |
| February | 681 | 0 |
| March | 540 | 0 |
| April | 296 | 8 |
| May | 109 | 55 |
| June | 11 | 177 |
| July | 1 | 280 |
| August | 1 | 252 |
| September | 39 | 116 |
| October | 260 | 15 |
| November | 556 | 1 |
| December | 774 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,126 | 903 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00313228. 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?
2025 averaged 57.2°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.1°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56.8°F | +0.7°F | 54.77 | 3.0 |
| 2022 | 56.7°F | +0.6°F | 49.95 | 5.2 |
| 2023 | 57.5°F | +1.4°F | 49.51 | 0.5 |
| 2024 | 58.3°F | +2.1°F | 50.50 | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 57.2°F | +1.1°F | 43.87 | 3.8 |
Over 57 complete years from 1946 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.4°F per century (+0.19°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00313228; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Franklin's climate compare?
Franklin is warmer than 24 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 95. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.1°F is warmer than 64%.
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.
Questions about Franklin's climate
What is the coldest month in Franklin?
January, with a normal high of 48°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Franklin?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Franklin?
January, with 5.34 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.76 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Franklin in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Franklin in zone 7b in ZIP code 28734, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Franklin's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Franklin?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 4. Waiting until May 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Franklin in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Coweeta Experiment Station, NC9 miles from this station, 56.6°F a year
- Highlands, NC14 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Cullowhee, NC16 miles from this station, 56.1°F a year
- Bryson City, NC19 miles from this station, 55.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made