Soil temperature in Erie, Pennsylvania

Soil temperature

76°F24.2°C

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 24.2°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

Soil temperature at 6cm in Erie, Pennsylvania is currently 24.2°C, and falling about 23.1°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 24.2°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 Monday 10am–8pm, on the basis that no rain since Friday, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Erie opens at 8am on Thursday 3 September, because anything earlier is the hour your neighbours will remember. Underfoot, the ground reads as soft in places after 28mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Erie

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 23.5°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — ground soft in places, 28mm rain over the last week.

Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident

No — ground soft in places, 28mm rain over the last week.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Monday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places28mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.70
Good:Temperature
Cool24°C
Good:Wind
Wind light8 km/h

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Wednesday 2 September: Good. No — 10.8mm of rain falling.

Wednesday 2 SeptemberConfident

No — 10.8mm of rain falling.

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Monday
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft28mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.66
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature22°C
Good:Wind
Wind light11 km/h

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–8pm — ground soft — 60mm rain over the last week

Thursday 3 September · 8am–8pmConfident

8am–8pm — ground soft — 60mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft60mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.75
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature22°C
Good:Wind
Wind light7 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Friday 4 September: Good. 8am–10am — ground soft — 60mm rain over the last week

Friday 4 September · 8am–10amConfident

8am–10am — ground soft — 60mm rain over the last week

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass dryraining now
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft60mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Good:Temperature
Temperature21°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–8pm — ground soft in places — 63mm rain over the last week

Saturday 5 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

8am–8pm — ground soft in places — 63mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places63mm 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:ground firmness

Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–8pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Sunday 6 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

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

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm63mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.85
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light7 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

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

Monday 7 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

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

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm63mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature
Temperature14°C
Good:Wind
Wind light15 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 Friday, ground firm

Tuesday 8 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

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

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm34mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good: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:none

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

Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm34mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light7 km/h

Limiting factor:none

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

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places3mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.91
Good:Temperature
Temperature22°C
Good:Wind
Wind light23 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Nearby

Your own postcode

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

One email when the app is ready, and nothing else. Unsubscribe in one click. See the privacy notice.