Frost dates for Franklin, Pennsylvania
Half of years have their last spring frost by May 2, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 20.
A frost date is really a percentile from 30 years of records at a nearby weather station: in about half of years a frost still comes after the median date. Both numbers are below, so you can choose the risk yourself.
The odds
Last spring frost
How often a frost still comes on or after each date.
- 1 year in 10
- May 20
- 1 year in 5
- May 15
- 3 years in 10
- May 9
- 2 years in 5
- May 6
- Half of years (the median)
- May 2
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 8
- 1 year in 5
- October 14
- 3 years in 10
- October 17
- 2 years in 5
- October 20
- Half of years (the median)
- October 23
- Growing season
- about 171 days
- Hardiness zone nearby
- 6a
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 27 °C81 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- June to August, in hot, long days (how we know)
Summer and rain
A growing garden needs about 25 mm1 in of water a week, rain and watering together. Here is what a normal month brings.
Month by month
- January
- high ~1 °C34 °F · low ~-8 °C18 °F · rain ~83 mm3.3 in
- February
- high ~2 °C36 °F · low ~-7 °C19 °F · rain ~68 mm2.7 in
- March
- high ~8 °C46 °F · low ~-4 °C25 °F · rain ~85 mm3.4 in
- April
- high ~15 °C60 °F · low ~2 °C35 °F · rain ~105 mm4.1 in
- May
- high ~22 °C71 °F · low ~8 °C46 °F · rain ~102 mm4 in
- June
- high ~26 °C79 °F · low ~13 °C56 °F · rain ~123 mm4.9 in
- July
- high ~28 °C83 °F · low ~15 °C60 °F · rain ~135 mm5.3 in
- August
- high ~27 °C81 °F · low ~15 °C58 °F · rain ~108 mm4.2 in
- September
- high ~23 °C74 °F · low ~11 °C52 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
- October
- high ~16 °C61 °F · low ~5 °C41 °F · rain ~96 mm3.8 in
- November
- high ~9 °C49 °F · low ~0 °C32 °F · rain ~87 mm3.4 in
- December
- high ~3 °C38 °F · low ~-4 °C24 °F · rain ~85 mm3.4 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Franklin station (listed by NOAA as Franklin HCN, USC00363028), at 41.40, -79.83. These are that station’s own records, unshifted. The further your garden is from it, the less exactly they describe your ground. The planner finds the nearest station to your garden and lowers its confidence with distance, so no number is presented as if it were measured in your garden.
Cold air also pools in low ground on the clear, still nights when frost happens, so a hollow can freeze while a slope a few hundred feet away does not. No table can know that about your garden. A few seasons of your own logged frosts can.
ZIP codes nearest this station
16030, 16145, 16311, 16317, 16319, 16323, 16342, 16343, 16344, 16346, 16362, 16372, 16374.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Mercer, PA, last frost by May 15
- Putneyville 2 SE Dam, PA, last frost by May 10
- Schenley Lock, PA, last frost by April 21
- Erie International Airport, PA, last frost by April 26
- Beaver Falls 1 NE, PA, last frost by April 27
- Millport 4 NE, OH, last frost by May 2
Other stations in Pennsylvania.
- Mckeesport, PA, last frost by May 2
- Prince Gallitzin State Park, PA, last frost by May 10
- Washington 3 NE, PA, last frost by April 24
- Charleroi Lock, PA, last frost by April 13
- Johnstown Cambria County Airport, PA, last frost by April 29
- Philipsburg 2 S, PA, last frost by May 13
- Altoona Blair County Airport, PA, last frost by April 23
- State College, PA, last frost by April 20
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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