Waterbury, Connecticut

Best weekend slot

Monday 10am–8pm

Verdict: Good

no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Next mow

Tomorrow 2pm–8pm

Verdict: Good

grass dry — rain earlier today

How you feel about mowing

Sensible middle ground.

Petrol or battery. The baseline.

The next 10 days

Column height is how mowable the day is; the lighter band is the best stretch within it. The line is soil temperature at 6cm. It crosses the seeding threshold inside this forecast.

12.5°C — seeding

Soil at 6cm 18.9°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — grass wet, rain 4 hours ago.

Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident

No — grass wet, rain 4 hours ago.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass wetrain 4 hours ago
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places0mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
Good:Temperature
Temperature17°C
Good:Wind
Wind light9 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Wednesday 2 September: Good. 2pm–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Wednesday 2 September · 2pm–8pmConfident

2pm–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places34mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
Good:Temperature
Temperature17°C
Good:Wind
Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 3 September: Good. 7pm–8pm — ground soft — 34mm rain over the last week

Thursday 3 September · 7pm–8pmConfident

7pm–8pm — ground soft — 34mm rain over the last week

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 5 hours ago
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft34mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.89
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature20°C
Good:Wind
Wind light4 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Friday 4 September: Good. 8am–midday — ground soft in places — 58mm rain over the last week

Friday 4 September · 8am–middayConfident

8am–midday — ground soft in places — 58mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places58mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature19°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–6pm — ground soft in places — 58mm rain over the last week

Saturday 5 September · 8am–6pmReasonably confident

8am–6pm — ground soft in places — 58mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places58mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light15 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Sunday 6 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

10am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm58mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light7 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Monday 7 September: Good. 10am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Monday 7 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

10am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm59mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.91
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 September: Good. 8am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Tuesday 8 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

8am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm59mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Wednesday 9 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.

Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm25mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.91
Good:Temperature
Temperature15°C
Good:Wind
Wind light10 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 10 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass slightly dampraining now
Good:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places26mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
Good:Temperature
Temperature20°C
Good:Wind
Wind light11 km/h

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Soil temperature

66°F19.0°C

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 19.0°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

Most cool-season lawns in the northern US and Canada are bluegrass, tall fescue, or a mix of the two. We assume that, and use12.5°C as the seeding threshold.

I know what grass I have

The differences are small. Ryegrass is the quickest off the mark; bluegrass is the slowest and wants the warmest soil. Everything else sits between.

Soil temperature at 6cm for reliable germination. Sources onthe method page.
SpeciesSoil tempDays
Perennial ryegrass8°C5–10
Red / chewings fescue8–10°C10–14
Tall fescuelikely yours10–12°C10–14
Browntop bentColonial bentgrass10–12°C14–21
Smooth-stalked meadow grassKentucky bluegrasslikely yours12–13°C14–28

What this means right now

  • Good: Seeding window open

    Seeding conditions are open — soil is 19.0°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

  • Warning: Heat stress

    Thursday 3 September gets hot enough to stress the sward. Mow early or late, and raise the height.

  • Worth watching: Ground still soft

    34mm rain over the last week. A mower will mark it, and a ride-on will rut it.

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Forecast from Open-Meteo, refreshed hourly. Soil temperature is modelled, not measured — how that works and where the thresholds come from.