Soil temperature in Rapid City, South Dakota
Soil temperature
74°F23.5°C
at 6cm — germination depth
Cooling over the next 11 days.
Seeding conditions are open — soil is 23.5°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.
| 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 Rapid City, South Dakota is currently 23.5°C, and falling about 20.5°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 23.5°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.
8 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The best weekend slot right now is Monday 10am–8pm, on the basis that rain earlier today, ground firm.
The next recommended window in Rapid City opens at 6pm on Tuesday 1 September, and holds while conditions stay put. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 0mm rain over the last week.
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 23.3°C cooling to 0.0°C
Tuesday 1 September: Good. 6pm–8pm — cool — 24°C
Tuesday 1 September · 6pm–8pmConfident
6pm–8pm — cool — 24°C
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
- Good:Temperature
- Cool24°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light10 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but fine
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–midday — rain earlier today, ground firm
Wednesday 2 September · 8am–middayConfident
8am–midday — rain earlier today, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.88
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature16°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–10am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.35
Thursday 3 September · 8am–10amConfident
8am–10am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.35
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Tuesday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.35
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature20°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light13 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Friday 4 September: Good. 8am–9am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.28
Friday 4 September · 8am–9amConfident
8am–9am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.28
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Tuesday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.28
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light11 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–9am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.20
Saturday 5 September · 8am–9amReasonably confident
8am–9am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.20
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 2 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
- Poor:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.20
- Poor:Temperature
- Cool24°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light12 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–11am — heat stress — 27°C
Sunday 6 September · 10am–11amReasonably confident
10am–11am — heat stress — 27°C
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Saturday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.43
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light7 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:temperature
Monday 7 September: Good. 10am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm
Monday 7 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident
10am–8pm — rain earlier today, 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 0.93
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light11 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Tuesday 8 September: Good. 9am–11am — cool — 26°C
Tuesday 8 September · 9am–11amReasonably confident
9am–11am — cool — 26°C
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.73
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light17 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:temperature
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 Tuesday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm6mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature17°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light13 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Thursday 10 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.
Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Tuesday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm6mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.83
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature14°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light10 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Nearby
Your own postcode
These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.