State College, Pennsylvania
Mowing
When you can next cut it, and the best slot this weekend.
Best weekend slot
Nothing doing
Verdict: Not worth it
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.05). Conditions themselves are fine.
Tomorrow morning is your first decent window.
Next mow
Tomorrow 9am–7pm
Verdict: Prime time
temperature — 11°C
- Warning: Frost about. Saturday 24 October has frosted hours. Stay off it until it lifts — walking on frosted grass bruises it, and mowing it ruptures the leaf. More
The next 10 days
Each row is a day, morning on the left. The more solid a block, the more of the forecast runs agree you can mow. Open a day for the hour-by-hour forecast behind it.
Monday 19 October: nothing to cut. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.04). Conditions themselves are fine.
Monday 19 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing Rainchance · · · · · — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm · · · · · — — — — — — — — — — — Grass · · · · · dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground · · · · · firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm Temp · · · · · 5° 8° 11° 13° 15° 15° 16° 15° 14° 12° 10° Windkm/h · · · · · 2 4 6 5 4 5 5 3 2 2 5 Daylight · · · · · ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.04). Not enough to be worth cutting, which is why no hour is recommended today whatever the weather does.
Monday 19 OctoberConfident
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.04). Conditions themselves are fine.
Nothing to cut. The odds below describe the weather only — growth decides whether a cut is wanted, and it is judged separately.
Limiting factor:growth
Tuesday 20 October: 10 hours worth using. 9am–7pm — temperature — 11°C
Tuesday 20 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict dark dark dark ground frozen Prime time Prime time Prime time Prime time Prime time Prime time Prime time Prime time Prime time Prime time dark dark Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Grass dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground frozen frozen frozen frozen firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm Temp 5° 5° 4° 5° 7° 11° 12° 14° 16° 17° 17° 17° 16° 14° 12° 10° Windkm/h 5 4 6 7 3 11 15 16 15 16 16 15 12 7 8 7 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.14). Enough to be worth cutting. Growth decides whether a cut is wanted, not how well it will go, so it is not one of the rows above and does not move the chances.
Tuesday 20 October · 9am–7pmConfident
9am–7pm — temperature — 11°C
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 21 October: nothing to cut. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.09). Conditions themselves are fine.
Wednesday 21 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Grass dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground frozen frozen frozen frozen firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm Temp 4° 3° 3° 3° 6° 9° 12° 14° 15° 16° 16° 15° 15° 11° 9° 8° Windkm/h 4 6 7 6 5 6 5 3 3 3 5 5 4 4 3 1 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.09). Not enough to be worth cutting, which is why no hour is recommended today whatever the weather does.
Wednesday 21 OctoberConfident
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.09). Conditions themselves are fine.
Nothing to cut. The odds below describe the weather only — growth decides whether a cut is wanted, and it is judged separately.
Limiting factor:growth
Thursday 22 October: nothing to cut. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.09). Conditions themselves are fine.
Thursday 22 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Grass damp wet soaked soaked soaked dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground frozen frozen frozen frozen firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm Temp 4° 3° 3° 3° 6° 9° 12° 13° 15° 16° 17° 17° 16° 12° 10° 9° Windkm/h 5 4 6 5 5 5 6 8 13 13 12 10 8 6 6 6 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.09). Not enough to be worth cutting, which is why no hour is recommended today whatever the weather does.
Thursday 22 OctoberConfident
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.09). Conditions themselves are fine.
Nothing to cut. The odds below describe the weather only — growth decides whether a cut is wanted, and it is judged separately.
Limiting factor:growth
Friday 23 October: nothing to cut. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.09). Conditions themselves are fine.
Friday 23 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Grass soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground firm firm frozen frozen firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm frozen Temp 5° 5° 4° 5° 7° 10° 12° 13° 14° 15° 15° 15° 14° 11° 8° 7° Windkm/h 4 4 3 4 4 6 9 10 10 9 8 8 7 7 5 5 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.09). Not enough to be worth cutting, which is why no hour is recommended today whatever the weather does.
Friday 23 OctoberReasonably confident
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.09). Conditions themselves are fine.
Nothing to cut. The odds below describe the weather only — growth decides whether a cut is wanted, and it is judged separately.
Limiting factor:growth
Saturday 24 October: nothing to cut. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.05). Conditions themselves are fine.
Saturday 24 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Grass dry dry dry damp damp dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground frozen frozen frozen frozen firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm Temp 3° 2° 2° 2° 4° 7° 10° 11° 12° 13° 13° 13° 13° 11° 8° 7° Windkm/h 4 4 4 4 5 8 10 11 12 13 12 11 10 8 6 5 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.05). Not enough to be worth cutting, which is why no hour is recommended today whatever the weather does.
Saturday 24 OctoberReasonably confident
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.05). Conditions themselves are fine.
Nothing to cut. The odds below describe the weather only — growth decides whether a cut is wanted, and it is judged separately.
Limiting factor:growth
Sunday 25 October: nothing to cut. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.05). Conditions themselves are fine.
Sunday 25 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Grass damp wet soaked soaked soaked damp dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground frozen frozen frozen frozen firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm Temp 3° 2° 2° 3° 5° 8° 10° 12° 13° 14° 14° 14° 14° 12° 10° 8° Windkm/h 4 4 3 3 5 6 8 10 11 12 12 11 10 8 6 5 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.05). Not enough to be worth cutting, which is why no hour is recommended today whatever the weather does.
Sunday 25 OctoberReasonably confident
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.05). Conditions themselves are fine.
Nothing to cut. The odds below describe the weather only — growth decides whether a cut is wanted, and it is judged separately.
Limiting factor:growth
Monday 26 October: no hours worth using. No — ground frozen.
Monday 26 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict dark dark dark ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen dark dark Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Grass dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen Temp 6° 6° 7° 8° 9° 12° 14° 16° 18° 18° 18° 17° 16° 14° 13° 12° Windkm/h 6 6 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 10 8 7 6 4 3 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.17). Enough to be worth cutting. Growth decides whether a cut is wanted, not how well it will go, so it is not one of the rows above and does not move the chances.
Monday 26 OctoberReasonably confident
No — ground frozen.
Limiting factor:temperature
Tuesday 27 October: no hours worth using. No — ground frozen.
Tuesday 27 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict dark dark dark ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen ground frozen dark dark Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Grass wet wet wet wet damp dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen Temp 11° 11° 10° 10° 11° 13° 15° 16° 17° 17° 17° 16° 16° 15° 13° 12° Windkm/h 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 10 13 16 16 14 12 10 8 6 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — Growth: growing slowly (growth potential 0.31). Enough to be worth cutting. Growth decides whether a cut is wanted, not how well it will go, so it is not one of the rows above and does not move the chances.
Tuesday 27 OctoberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Wednesday 28 October: nothing to cut. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.09).
Wednesday 28 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing Already gone Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — · Rainmm — — — — 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.1 — — · Grass dry dry dry dry dry damp damp soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked · Ground frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen frozen · Temp 9° 9° 10° 10° 11° 11° 11° 10° 8° 6° 6° 5° 4° 4° 3° · Windkm/h 7 7 7 6 8 9 8 8 18 26 28 26 24 23 23 · Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — · Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.09). Not enough to be worth cutting, which is why no hour is recommended today whatever the weather does.
Wednesday 28 OctoberLow confidence this far out
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.09).
Nothing to cut. The odds below describe the weather only — growth decides whether a cut is wanted, and it is judged separately.
Limiting factor:growth
good to go touch and go dark, frost or snow already goneFainter means fewer forecast runs agree.
Growth
How fast it is growing, and when it will need cutting again.
4%Barely growing
Of the fastest this grass could grow. The turf-industry measure, from today's temperature and day length.
The lawn is barely growing, so it does not need cutting. Leave it — taking leaf off a sward that cannot replace it costs more than it gives.
Held back by both temperature and short days — 11.0 hours of daylight at 7°C.
- Over the next 10 days
- about 4mm of leaf
- Next cut due
- not within the next ten days
This only knows temperature and day length. Feeding, watering, shade and cutting height all move it, so treat it as a rough guide.
Worked out from the PACE Turf growth potential model and day length —how and why.
Seeding
Soil temperature at germination depth, and when the window opens.
Soil temperature in State College, Pennsylvania
38°F3.5°C
at 6cm — germination depth
Too cold to seed — 3.5°C at 6cm and not warming.
Cooling over the next 10 days.
An independent estimate from air temperature gives 9.2°C, 2.5°C away. Treat the figure as approximate.
Most cool-season lawns in the northern US and Canada are bluegrass, tall fescue, or a mix of the two. We assume that, and use 12.5°C as the seeding threshold.
Thresholds for every species
The differences are small. Ryegrass is the quickest off the mark; bluegrass is the slowest and wants the warmest soil. Everything else sits between.
| Species | Soil needed | Days to sprout |
|---|---|---|
| Perennial ryegrass | 8°C | 5–10 |
| Red / chewings fescue | 8–10°C | 10–14 |
| Tall fescuelikely yours | 10–12°C | 10–14 |
| Browntop bentColonial bentgrass | 10–12°C | 14–21 |
| Smooth-stalked meadow grassKentucky bluegrasslikely yours | 12–13°C | 14–28 |
Feeding
Why timing decides whether a feed does anything at all.
Coming in the app
Grass takes up nitrogen when it is growing. Feed a lawn that has stopped and most of it washes past the roots — which is why timing beats product choice.
Right now this lawn is not growing fast enough to make much use of a feed.
The app will work out the actual feeding windows for your lawn — along with weed control, scarifying and moss treatment — and tell you when they open without you having to check.
State College, Pennsylvania in detail
Soil temperature in State College, Pennsylvania is currently 3.5°C at 6cm, and falling about 5.1°C over the next 10 days. That depth matters because it is where grass seed sits and where roots start working, and it lags air temperature by days — which is why a warm afternoon here tells you very little on its own.
Lawns in this area are typically Kentucky bluegrass with tall fescue, the usual mix for cool-season lawns at this latitude. That blend needs the soil to hold above 12.5°C before seed germinates reliably. Too cold to seed — 3.5°C at 6cm and not warming.
1 of the next 10 days look workable. As for the weekend: nothing doing. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.05). Conditions themselves are fine.
The next recommended window in State College opens at 9am on Tuesday 20 October, because anything earlier is the hour your neighbours will remember. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 0mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil.
There is frost in the forecast for State College, Pennsylvania: Saturday 24 October has hours cold enough to freeze the leaf. Stay off the grass until it lifts — mowing frosted turf ruptures the cells and the damage shows for weeks.
Save this lawn and we will email you when the windows open.
We already send you the forecast email? Use the same address.
Single-model forecast here — no ensemble covers this location, so there are no odds to show. Forecast from Open-Meteo, refreshed through the day. Soil temperature is modelled, not measured — how that works and where the thresholds come from.