Summit forecast for 5,260 ft · Franconia · Updated 3x daily
As of August 17, 2026 at 3:40 AM ET
Mount Lafayette (5,260 ft) is currently 51°F (feels like 44°F) with light drizzle and S winds at 17 mph, gusting to 35 mph. Today's freezing level is 13,911–15,190 ft. Expect the summit to run about 13°F colder than the trailhead. Trail conditions are rated Difficult.
Valley forecasts don't apply up high — temperatures drop about 3.8°F per 1,000 ft on Mount Lafayette.
| Elevation | Temp Range | Max Wind | Wind Chill (Low) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summit 5,260 ft | 54° – 59°F | 36 mph | 54°F |
| Treeline 4,000 ft | 57° – 64°F | 34 mph | 57°F |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 62° – 72°F | 16 mph | 62°F |
Freezing level today: 13,911–15,190 ft
~3.8°F drop per 1,000ft
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Today Aug 17 | Tomorrow Aug 18 | Wednesday Aug 19 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | drizzle | drizzle | drizzle | fog | fog | sunny | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 57° 55° | 59° 56° | 57° 55° | 54° 52° | 52° 50° | 54° 53° | 55° 53° | 57° 54° | 55° 51° |
| Chill °F | — | — | — | — | 45° | — | — | — | — |
| Wind mph | 27 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 12 | 23 | 25 |
| Gust mph est. | 43 | 26 | 11 | 11 | 22 | — | 18 | — | 33 |
| Storm risk | — | mod | mod | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | 0.1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Freezing ft | 14,604 ft | 14,358 ft | 12,697 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 76% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | clear | clear | clear | clear |
| UV | 0 | 2 | — | 3 | 6 | — | 6 | 6 | — |
Tap a day header to expand AM/PM/Night detail
| Elevation | Today Aug 17 | Tomorrow Aug 18 | Wednesday Aug 19 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 5,260 ft | 55/57° 27 | 52/54° 7 | 53/55° 12 |
| 5,000 ft | 55/57° 28 | 52/55° 8 | 54/56° 11 |
| 4,100 ft | 57/59° 27 | 55/57° 12 | 58/60° 8 |
| 3,300 ft | 58/61° 22 | 57/59° 12 | 61/63° 7 |
| 2,500 ft | 61/64° 16 | 60/61° 10 | 62/67° 6 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 62/66° 13 | 62/63° 9 | 60/70° 5 |
4 more days of forecast — plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
Conditions synthesized from: NWS Higher Summits Forecast, NOAA Open-Meteo, Mount Washington Observatory, NETC Trip Reports, NOHRSC Snow Depth, Mt. Washington Avalanche Center, USGS Stream Levels, OpenWeather Air Quality.
AI-generated from public data. Always verify conditions before heading out — backcountry weather can change quickly.
As of August 17, 2026 at 3:40 AM ET: Mount Lafayette (5,260 ft) is currently 51°F (feels like 44°F) with light drizzle and S winds at 17 mph, gusting to 35 mph. Today's freezing level is 13,911–15,190 ft. Expect the summit to run about 13°F colder than the trailhead. Trail conditions are rated Difficult.
Temperatures drop roughly 3.8°F per 1,000 ft of elevation on Mount Lafayette. Today the trailhead (2,000 ft) tops out around 72°F while the summit (5,260 ft) reaches about 59°F, with a wind chill as low as 54°F.
Winds at the summit of Mount Lafayette are forecast to reach 36 mph today, with 34 mph at treeline. Above treeline there is no shelter from wind — plan layers around wind chill, not air temperature.
Today's freezing level (13,911–15,190 ft) is above the 5,260 ft summit of Mount Lafayette, so the full route should stay above freezing.