FrostDateCheck

Franklin, NY 13846 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Franklin, NY?

Zone 5a

The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/17, about 262 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/03, about 141 frost-free days later.

Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Franklin, not a forecast for this year.

What to do before the first frost

About 5 weeks of growing season left in Franklin before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

The actual range around Franklin's last frost

05/17 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. 05/30 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Franklin compares

About 141 days separate Franklin's last and first frost, putting it 36,987 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NY, it ranks 1,788 of 1,951.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Franklin can differ from the 13846 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Franklin's frost date answer different questions.