Franklin, NH 03273 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Franklin, NH, ZIP 03273
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/15, roughly 260 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/27, about 135 frost-free days later.
Franklin sits in USDA Zone 5b (-15 to -10°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5b around Franklin has about 4 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
Why 05/15 isn't a guarantee
05/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/29 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Franklin compares
At roughly 135 frost-free days, Franklin places 37,836 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NH, it ranks 215 of 260.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Franklin can differ from the 03273 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5b and Franklin's frost date answer different questions.