Early access, free.
Cownty

Home › Kansas › Franklin County

Franklin County, KS

Change county

Franklin County rain, outlook and forecast

On the Oct 27 U.S. Drought Monitor map, most of Franklin County, KS showed no drought. Over 90 days rain is at 100% of normal, and the last 30 days came in at 94% (near normal); the 6-10 day outlook for Nov 7–11 leans drier than normal (33% chance of below-normal rain) and the best rain chance this week is 68% on Monday (high 73°). Franklin County is not on FSA's 2026 LFP list yet, and the nearest USDA-reported sale barn is Salina, 127 miles away.

Rain vs normal

  • Last 30 days 94% of normal
  • Last 60 days 140% of normal
  • Last 90 days 100% of normal

NOAA river forecast center rain (radar plus gauges) at the county center, Nov 1, 2026. Source.

Rain outlook

  • 6-10 day outlook (Nov 7–11) Leans drier than normal (33% chance of below-normal rain)
  • 8-14 day outlook (Nov 9–15) Leans toward near-normal rain

NOAA Climate Prediction Center precipitation outlook, issued Nov 1, 2026. Source.

Next 7 days

  1. Today Isolated Rain Showers, high 68°, low 60°, 15% rain, wind 5–15 mph
  2. Monday Showers And Thunderstorms Likely, high 73°, low 56°, 68% rain, wind 15–25 mph
  3. Tuesday Chance Rain Showers, high 67°, low 44°, 38% rain, wind 10–15 mph
  4. Wednesday Mostly Sunny, high 64°, low 40°, 4% rain, wind 0–10 mph
  5. Thursday Mostly Sunny, high 61°, low 39°, 11% rain, wind 0–5 mph
  6. Friday Mostly Sunny, high 63°, low 39°, 1% rain, wind 0–5 mph
  7. Saturday Mostly Sunny, high 66°, low 41°, 19% rain, wind 0–5 mph

National Weather Service forecast for the county center, updated Nov 1, 2026. Wind, warnings and burn bans.

Open loss windows

No open loss windows in Franklin County right now. A 30-day window opens when the county first hits severe drought (D2), jumps to D3 or D4, or after a blizzard, extreme heat or cold, flood or ice warning, a wildfire, or a USDA disaster designation. Keep a Drought Ledger.

Information only; not financial, tax or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility. Cownty sends nothing to FSA.

Drought-sale tax flag IRS list

A county next to Franklin County is on IRS Notice 2026-54 (Douglas County, KS, Johnson County, KS, Miami County, KS). The IRS counts your county plus every county touching it.

Why it matters: if you sold breeding, dairy or draft livestock because of drought, the tax code may let you put off the gain (more time to buy replacement animals, or report the extra-sale income a year later). Your tax preparer decides whether either applies.

Work out your numbers and print a page for your preparer

Information only; not financial, tax or legal advice. Ask your tax preparer. FSA decides program eligibility. IRS Notice 2026-54 (PDF)

Next 7 days · National Weather Service

Weather for Franklin County

Forecast for the center point of Franklin County.

  • Windy on 1 day
  1. Today Isolated Rain Showers 68° 60° SE 5–15 mph 15% rain
  2. Mon Showers And Thunderstorms Likely 73° 56° S 15–25 mph 68% rain
  3. Tue Chance Rain Showers 67° 44° SW 10–15 mph 38% rain
  4. Wed Mostly Sunny 64° 40° W 0–10 mph 4% rain
  5. Thu Mostly Sunny 61° 39° NW 0–5 mph 11% rain
  6. Fri Mostly Sunny 63° 39° N 0–5 mph 1% rain
  7. Sat Mostly Sunny 66° 41° W 0–5 mph 19% rain

Forecast from the National Weather Service, updated Nov 1, 2026. Wind arrows point where the wind is going; the letters say where it comes from. Windy = 25 mph or more; freeze = a low of 32°F or less. Open the full forecast.

Burn ban

Data pending. Kansas has no statewide official burn-ban list; county commissions set bans and announce them locally (county emergency management or sheriff)

Franklin County burning rules: Burn Resolution

From the county burning information page on the KDHE Flint Hills Smoke Management site (source), as of Nov 1, 2026. That page says it may be incomplete; call the county before burning.

No official ban list to check here, so Cownty shows the National Weather Service fire-weather alerts for the county instead: none right now. State fire-restrictions page.

Weather warnings right now

None right now

National Weather Service active alerts for this county, as of Nov 1, 2026 (source). Fetched Nov 1, 2026.

Rainfall vs normal

Sep 2026
4.44 in 109% of normal
Last 12 months
43.10 in 111%
How to read this

Bars are the rain that fell each month; the dashed line is a normal month (1991-2020 average). Bars below the line = drier than normal.

County-average precipitation, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026. Normal = NCEI's own 1991-2020 average for each month (Sep 2026 normal 4.06 in; same month last year 2.39 in). NCEI posts each month around the 8th of the next and may revise recent months. Source: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance. Fetched Oct 30, 2026.

Wildfires

No current fire perimeter in the county

No current perimeter within 100 mi of the county center (83 mapped nationally).

See the fire map

Interagency fire outlines. Small or brand-new fires are often not mapped yet; call 911 for a fire you can see. Layer updated Nov 1, 2026. Source: National Interagency Fire Center. Fetched Nov 1, 2026.

Frost dates

Frost and freeze dates

30-year averages (1991–2020) from the weather stations nearest Franklin County. Frost = 32°F; hard freeze = 28°F.

Ottawa weather station (4 mi away)

Typical last spring frostTypical first fall frost
Frost (32°F)
183-day growing season
Apr 18
1 year in 10 it's after May 1
Oct 20
1 year in 10 it's before Oct 3
Hard freeze (28°F)
203-day growing season
Apr 8
1 year in 10 it's after Apr 22
Oct 30
1 year in 10 it's before Oct 16

Pomona Lake weather station (17 mi away)

Typical last spring frostTypical first fall frost
Frost (32°F)
205-day growing season
Apr 8
1 year in 10 it's after Apr 22
Oct 31
1 year in 10 it's before Oct 18
Hard freeze (28°F)
224-day growing season
Mar 30
1 year in 10 it's after Apr 12
Nov 8
1 year in 10 it's before Oct 27

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Ottawa, Pomona Lake), NOAA files as of Jun 27, 2023. Fetched Oct 18, 2026.

Nearest USDA-reported sale barns

  1. Farmers and Ranchers Livestock (feeder cattle) Salina, KS 127 mi · sells Thursdays · latest USDA report Oct 29, 2026
  2. Four State Stockyards Exeter, MO 150 mi · sells Tuesdays · latest USDA report Oct 27, 2026
  3. Benton County Sale Barn Siloam Springs, AR 169 mi · sells Thursdays · latest USDA report Oct 29, 2026
  4. Tulsa Stockyards Tulsa, OK 171 mi · sells Mondays · latest USDA report Oct 26, 2026
  5. Winter Livestock (Pratt Livestock) Pratt, KS 195 mi · sells Thursdays · latest USDA report Oct 29, 2026

Miles are straight-line from the county center. Sale days come from the barns' recent USDA AMS reports; call the barn to confirm. All barns

Common questions and nearby counties

Is Franklin County eligible for LFP in 2026?

Not on FSA's 2026 LFP county list as of Oct 29, 2026. FSA updates the list as drought changes.

Source: FSA LFP county file of Oct 29, 2026

What is the drought level in Franklin County this week?

On the Drought Monitor map of Oct 27, 2026, most of Franklin County was in no drought, and the worst part was no drought on 0% of the county. 0 straight weeks with some severe drought (D2) or worse.

Source: U.S. Drought Monitor, map of Oct 27, 2026

Is there a burn ban in Franklin County?

No official statewide list to check: Kansas has no statewide official burn-ban list; county commissions set bans and announce them locally (county emergency management or sheriff).

What sale barns are near Franklin County?

The nearest USDA-reported sale barns: Salina (127 mi), last report Oct 29, 2026; Exeter (150 mi), last report Oct 27, 2026; Siloam Springs (169 mi), last report Oct 29, 2026.

Source: USDA AMS Market News reports

What are the upcoming FSA and farm deadlines?

Next: Nov 20, 2026: Apply for NRCS conservation cost-share (EQIP, CSP, ACEP) to be considered for 2027 money; Nov 20, 2026: Micro Farm 2027: last day to buy crop insurance. FSA program dates not posted officially are marked "confirm at source" on the calendar.

Source: official agency pages (see Calendar)

Information only; not financial or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility. Always check the linked official source.