What is the soil temperature in Elmira, New York?

Soil temperature at 6cm in Elmira, New York is currently 22.3°C. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 22.3°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

Soil temperature in Elmira, New York

Soil temperature

72°F22.3°C

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 22.3°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.
Species	Soil temp	Days
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

Soil temperature at 6cm in Elmira, New York is currently 22.3°C, and falling about 20.8°C over the next 11 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. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 22.3°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

7 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The other 3 are held back by wet grass or soft ground. The best weekend slot right now is Saturday 1pm–3pm, on the basis that dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Elmira opens at 8am on Wednesday 2 September, because anything earlier is the hour your neighbours will remember. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 3mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Elmira

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 21.5°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident

No — cool, 25°C.

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm3mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.83
Good:Temperature: Temperature22°C
Good:Wind: Wind light1 km/h

Limiting factor:temperature

Wednesday 2 September · 8am–8pmConfident

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm6mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.79
Marginal:Temperature: Temperature21°C
Good:Wind: Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September · midday–2pmConfident

midday–2pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground soft in places6mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
Marginal:Temperature: Temperature21°C
Good:Wind: Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Friday 4 September · midday–8pmConfident

midday–8pm — grass dry — dried off since a shower 2 hours ago

Marginal:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 2 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm30mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
Good:Temperature: Temperature19°C
Good:Wind: Wind light3 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Saturday 5 September · 1pm–3pmReasonably confident

1pm–3pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm30mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.79
Good:Temperature: Temperature13°C
Good:Wind: Wind light8 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm31mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.72
Good:Temperature: Temperature11°C
Good:Wind: Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

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 firm31mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
Good:Temperature: Temperature11°C
Good:Wind: Wind light3 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

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 firm28mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature: Temperature17°C
Good:Wind: Wind light4 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm25mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.76
Good:Temperature: Temperature11°C
Good:Wind: Wind light1 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Marginal:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm26mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature: Temperature20°C
Good:Wind: Wind light14 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Nearby

Your own postcode

These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.