Soil temperature in Morgantown, West Virginia

Soil temperature

77°F24.9°C

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 24.9°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 Morgantown, West Virginia is currently 24.9°C, and falling about 23.8°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 24.9°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–1pm, on the basis that no rain since Friday, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Morgantown opens at 8am on Wednesday 2 September, because that is when the dew has burnt off — earlier than that and you are cutting wet grass. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 0mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Morgantown

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 24.4°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — cool, 26°C.

Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident

No — cool, 26°C.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain in over a week
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.64
Marginal:Temperature
Cool24°C
Good:Wind
Wind light7 km/h

Limiting factor:temperature

Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–11am — no rain in over a week, ground firm

Wednesday 2 September · 8am–11amConfident

8am–11am — no rain in over a week, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain in over a week
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.42
Poor:Temperature
Temperature22°C
Good:Wind
Wind light4 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–10am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.32

Thursday 3 September · 8am–10amConfident

8am–10am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.32

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain in over a week
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
Marginal:Growth
Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.32
Poor:Temperature
Temperature23°C
Good:Wind
Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:growth

Friday 4 September: Good. 7pm–8pm — grass slightly damp — rain 4 hours ago

Friday 4 September · 7pm–8pmConfident

7pm–8pm — grass slightly damp — rain 4 hours ago

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature20°C
Good:Wind
Wind light8 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Saturday 5 September: Good. 10am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Saturday 5 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

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

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Good:Temperature
Temperature15°C
Good:Wind
Wind light4 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

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 firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°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: Good. 10am–1pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Monday 7 September · 10am–1pmReasonably confident

10am–1pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.93
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature15°C
Good:Wind
Wind light6 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 firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.91
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature18°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.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass wetraining now
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
Good:Temperature
Temperature19°C
Good:Wind
Wind light0 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 drydried off since a shower 1 hour ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm17mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.84
Good:Temperature
Temperature22°C
Good:Wind
Wind light18 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

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