Franklin, New Hampshire climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Franklin's normal year runs from 9°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 45.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.3°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,155 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFranklin Falls Dam
- Station IDUSC00273182
- Location43.47°N 71.65°W
- Elevation450 ft (137 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population8,823
On October 14, the normal high in Franklin is 60°F and the normal low 38°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Franklin.
- Jan 30° 9°
- Feb 33° 10°
- Mar 42° 20°
- Apr 56° 31°
- May 68° 43°
- Jun 76° 52°
- Jul 82° 58°
- Aug 80° 56°
- Sep 72° 48°
- Oct 59° 37°
- Nov 46° 26°
- Dec 35° 17°
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 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 9°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.93 in), the least in February (2.80 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 9°F | 19.3°F | 3.13 | – | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 33°F | 10°F | 21.7°F | 2.80 | – | <1 | 28 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 20°F | 30.9°F | 3.31 | – | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 31°F | 43.2°F | 3.49 | – | <1 | 19 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 43°F | 55.2°F | 3.62 | – | 1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 76°F | 52°F | 64.2°F | 4.28 | – | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 82°F | 58°F | 69.9°F | 4.20 | – | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 56°F | 67.8°F | 4.07 | – | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 48°F | 59.9°F | 3.72 | – | <1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 37°F | 48.2°F | 4.93 | – | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 26°F | 36.1°F | 3.93 | – | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 35°F | 17°F | 25.8°F | 3.99 | – | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 34°F | 45.2°F | 45.47 | – | 7 | 174 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −13°C | −7.1°C | 80 mm |
| February | 1°C | −12°C | −5.7°C | 71 mm |
| March | 5°C | −7°C | −0.6°C | 84 mm |
| April | 13°C | −1°C | 6.2°C | 89 mm |
| May | 20°C | 6°C | 12.9°C | 92 mm |
| June | 24°C | 11°C | 17.9°C | 109 mm |
| July | 28°C | 14°C | 21.1°C | 107 mm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.9°C | 103 mm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.5°C | 94 mm |
| October | 15°C | 3°C | 9.0°C | 125 mm |
| November | 8°C | −3°C | 2.3°C | 100 mm |
| December | 2°C | −8°C | −3.4°C | 101 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Laconia (11 miles away), gets 62 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00273182; 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 May, June, July, August and September.
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 USC00273182.
When is the last frost in Franklin?
In Franklin, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 7 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 3 in half of years and before September 24 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
- May 71 year in 10 after May 20; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 31 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 148 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 169 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 27 in half of springs and before October 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Franklin in zone 5b in ZIP code 03235.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New Hampshire · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00273182; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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, 7 days a year reach 90°F and 174 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 174a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 51high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 102°F, on August 10, 1949; the lowest is −36°F, on January 14, 1957.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2023, with 54.94 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 121.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00273182; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00273182. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Franklin?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Franklin, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (77%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 1.7 |
| February | 68% | 2.5 |
| March | 68% | 3.6 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 67% | 5.2 |
| June | 70% | 5.6 |
| July | 76% | 5.8 |
| August | 77% | 5.2 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 66% | 2.7 |
| November | 66% | 1.8 |
| December | 62% | 1.3 |
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 7,591 heating degree days, 41% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 395 cooling degree days, 57% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,209 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,418 | 0 |
| February | 1,214 | 0 |
| March | 1,059 | 0 |
| April | 655 | 1 |
| May | 315 | 11 |
| June | 88 | 63 |
| July | 12 | 163 |
| August | 32 | 117 |
| September | 192 | 39 |
| October | 524 | 1 |
| November | 867 | 0 |
| December | 1,215 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,591 | 395 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00273182. 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 44.7°F, 0.5°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 45.2°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 45.8°F | +0.6°F | 43.13 |
| 2023 | 47.1°F | +1.9°F | 54.94 |
| 2024 | 47.2°F | +2.0°F | 44.83 |
| 2025 | 44.7°F | −0.5°F | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00273182. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Franklin's climate compare?
Franklin is warmer than 10 of the other 27 places with their own NOAA record in New Hampshire, and wetter than 13. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.2°F is warmer than 20%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Franklin is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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?
3 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.
- Tilton Northfield, NH3,169 people · 4 mi SE
- Bristol, NH3,276 people · 10 mi NW
- New Hampton, NH2,425 people · 10 mi N
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 30°F and a normal low of 9°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Franklin?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Franklin's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Laconia (11 miles away), records 62 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Franklin?
October, with 4.93 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.80 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Franklin in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Franklin in zone 5b in ZIP code 03235.
How late can frost come in Franklin?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 7; in one year in ten it comes after May 20. Waiting until May 20 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- New Hampshire climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Salisbury, NH9 miles from this station, 45.5°F a year
- Laconia, NH11 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Grafton, NH16 miles from this station, 43.2°F a year
- Meredith, NH18 miles from this station, 46.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made