Franklin, West Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Franklin's normal year runs from 22°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 38.5 inches of precipitation and 27 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.4°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 29°C, 977 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFranklin (2 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00463215
- Location38.68°N 79.31°W
- Elevation1,900 ft (579 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population540
On October 24, the normal high in Franklin is 65°F and the normal low 38°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 43° 22°
- Feb 47° 23°
- Mar 55° 30°
- Apr 67° 38°
- May 74° 48°
- Jun 81° 55°
- Jul 84° 59°
- Aug 83° 58°
- Sep 77° 51°
- Oct 68° 41°
- Nov 56° 32°
- Dec 46° 25°
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 22°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.84 in), the least in February (2.06 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 22°F | 32.5°F | 2.47 | 8.1 | 9 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 47°F | 23°F | 34.6°F | 2.06 | 8.1 | 7 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 30°F | 42.6°F | 3.22 | 3.5 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 38°F | 52.4°F | 3.36 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 48°F | 60.9°F | 4.22 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 81°F | 55°F | 68.1°F | 3.44 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 84°F | 59°F | 71.8°F | 4.84 | 0.0 | 11 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 58°F | 70.4°F | 3.54 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 77°F | 51°F | 64.1°F | 3.84 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 41°F | 54.2°F | 2.55 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 32°F | 43.7°F | 2.36 | 1.2 | 8 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 46°F | 25°F | 35.8°F | 2.56 | 5.8 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 40°F | 52.6°F | 38.46 | 26.7 | 111 | 15 | 124 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −6°C | 0.3°C | 63 mm | 21 cm |
| February | 8°C | −5°C | 1.4°C | 52 mm | 21 cm |
| March | 13°C | −1°C | 5.9°C | 82 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 19°C | 3°C | 11.3°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 13°C | 20.1°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 15°C | 22.1°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 11°C | 17.8°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 5°C | 12.3°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 13°C | 0°C | 6.5°C | 60 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 8°C | −4°C | 2.1°C | 65 mm | 15 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00463215; 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 (6).
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 USC00463215.
When is the last frost in Franklin?
In Franklin, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 30 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 11 in half of years and before September 28 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 301 year in 10 after May 18; 9 in 10 after April 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 111 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 162 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 187 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 18 in half of springs and before October 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Franklin in zone 6a in ZIP code 26807, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in West Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00463215; 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, 15 days a year reach 90°F, 124 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 111 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 124a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 11high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 111a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 8a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1906) is 101°F, on July 16, 1988; the lowest is −17°F, on January 27, 1987.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1975, with 41.94 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 61.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00463215; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00463215. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Franklin?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Franklin, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (75%) and January the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 2.0 |
| February | 66% | 2.9 |
| March | 67% | 3.9 |
| April | 69% | 4.9 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 75% | 5.3 |
| September | 73% | 4.4 |
| October | 71% | 3.3 |
| November | 72% | 2.4 |
| December | 64% | 1.8 |
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 5,126 heating degree days, 5% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 635 cooling degree days, 30% 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 3,041 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,006 | 0 |
| February | 850 | 0 |
| March | 695 | 0 |
| April | 382 | 4 |
| May | 166 | 39 |
| June | 35 | 129 |
| July | 4 | 215 |
| August | 8 | 175 |
| September | 91 | 64 |
| October | 343 | 8 |
| November | 641 | 0 |
| December | 907 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,126 | 635 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00463215. 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.
How does Franklin's climate compare?
Franklin is warmer than 28 of the other 62 places with their own NOAA record in West Virginia, and wetter than 4. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.6°F is warmer than 52%.
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?
Brandywine has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Brandywine, WV198 people · 5 mi SE
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 43°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Franklin?
Yes: 27 inches in a normal year, falling on 9 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (8.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Franklin?
July, with 4.84 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.06 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Franklin in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Franklin in zone 6a in ZIP code 26807, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Franklin?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 30; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- West Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Glady (1 mi N), WV24 miles from this station, 46.6°F a year
- Petersburg, WV24 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Dale Enterprise, VA25 miles from this station, 53.6°F a year
- Canaan Valley #2, WV27 miles from this station, 46.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made