Summit forecast for 5,260 ft · Franconia · Updated 3x daily
As of September 4, 2026 at 1:20 PM ET
Mount Lafayette (5,260 ft) is currently 53°F (feels like 48°F) with partly cloudy and NW winds at 11 mph, gusting to 17 mph. Today's freezing level is 10,007–13,944 ft. Expect the summit to run about 15°F colder than the trailhead. Trail conditions are rated Moderate.
Valley forecasts don't apply up high — temperatures drop about 4.0°F per 1,000 ft on Mount Lafayette.
| Elevation | Temp Range | Max Wind | Wind Chill (Low) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summit 5,260 ft | 49° – 53°F | 22 mph | 42°F |
| Treeline 4,000 ft | 53° – 59°F | 21 mph | 53°F |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 60° – 68°F | 13 mph | 60°F |
Freezing level today: 10,007–13,944 ft
~4°F drop per 1,000ft
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Today Sep 4 | Tomorrow Sep 5 | Sunday Sep 6 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | fog | cloudy | fog | fog | rain | cloudy | fog | drizzle | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 53° 51° | 53° 51° | 50° 48° | 48° 47° | 48° 44° | 45° 42° | 42° 41° | 45° 43° | 45° 43° |
| Chill °F | — | — | 41° | 41° | 36° | 32° | 30° | 34° | 33° |
| Wind mph | 20 | 21 | 22 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 29 | 24 | 25 |
| Gust mph est. | 32 | 34 | 35 | 26 | 32 | 38 | 41 | — | — |
| Storm risk | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | - | - | - | - |
| Freezing ft | 12,137 ft | 9,701 ft | 8,163 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 90% | 95% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | <0.1 | 8 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | 8 | 5 | 8 | clear |
| UV | 5 | 6 | — | 1 | 6 | — | 5 | 6 | — |
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| Elevation | Today Sep 4 | Tomorrow Sep 5 | Sunday Sep 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 5,260 ft | 51/53° 20 | 47/48° 16 | 41/42° 29 |
| 5,000 ft | 52/54° 19 | 48/49° 16 | 42/43° 28 |
| 4,100 ft | 54/56° 16 | 51/51° 16 | 44/46° 25 |
| 3,300 ft | 56/59° 12 | 53/55° 13 | 47/50° 19 |
| 2,500 ft | 58/61° 9 | 56/58° 10 | 48/54° 17 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 60/63° 8 | 57/60° 8 | 50/56° 15 |
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 September 4, 2026 at 1:20 PM ET: Mount Lafayette (5,260 ft) is currently 53°F (feels like 48°F) with partly cloudy and NW winds at 11 mph, gusting to 17 mph. Today's freezing level is 10,007–13,944 ft. Expect the summit to run about 15°F colder than the trailhead. Trail conditions are rated Moderate.
Temperatures drop roughly 4.0°F per 1,000 ft of elevation on Mount Lafayette. Today the trailhead (2,000 ft) tops out around 68°F while the summit (5,260 ft) reaches about 53°F, with a wind chill as low as 42°F.
Winds at the summit of Mount Lafayette are forecast to reach 22 mph today, with 21 mph at treeline. Above treeline there is no shelter from wind — plan layers around wind chill, not air temperature.
Today's freezing level (10,007–13,944 ft) is above the 5,260 ft summit of Mount Lafayette, so the full route should stay above freezing.