What is the soil temperature in Medicine Hat, Alberta?

Soil temperature at 6cm in Medicine Hat, Alberta is currently 26.3°C. Too warm to seed — the soil is heat-stressed. Wait for it to cool.

Soil temperature in Medicine Hat, Alberta

Soil temperature

26.3°C79°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Too warm to seed — the soil is heat-stressed. Wait for it to cool.

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 Medicine Hat, Alberta is currently 26.3°C, and falling about 19.1°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. Too warm to seed — the soil is heat-stressed. Wait for it to cool.

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 Sunday 10am–8pm, on the basis that dried off since a shower 5 hours ago, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Medicine Hat opens at 8pm on Tuesday 1 September, because anything earlier is the hour your neighbours will remember. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 5mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Medicine Hat

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 25.6°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 September · 8pm–9pmConfident

8pm–9pm — heat stress — 26°C

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm5mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Poor:Temperature: Heat stress26°C
Good:Wind: Wind light16 km/h
Sociable hours: Your neighbours will remember itstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:temperature

Wednesday 2 September · 8am–middayConfident

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm5mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.89
Marginal:Temperature: Temperature13°C
Good:Wind: Wind light3 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September · 8am–9pmConfident

8am–9pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm5mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
Good:Temperature: Temperature12°C
Good:Wind: Wind light4 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:wind

Friday 4 September · 8am–8pmConfident

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
Good:Temperature: Temperature15°C
Good:Wind: Wind light15 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Saturday 5 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.75
Good:Temperature: Temperature11°C
Good:Wind: Wind light12 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

10am–8pm — dried off since a shower 5 hours ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 4 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.68
Good:Temperature: Temperature10°C
Good:Wind: Wind light10 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Monday 7 September · 8am–4pmReasonably confident

8am–4pm — no rain since Sunday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Sunday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.85
Good:Temperature: Temperature14°C
Good:Wind: Wind light17 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — 1.6mm of rain falling.

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass wetraining now
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.47
Good:Temperature: Temperature12°C
Good:Wind: Wind light13 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Marginal:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm12mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.61
Good:Temperature: Temperature12°C
Good:Wind: Wind light5 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Tuesday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm12mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
Marginal:Temperature: Temperature16°C
Good:Wind: Wind light12 km/h

Limiting factor:none

Nearby

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