Soil temperature in Salt Lake City, Utah
Soil temperature
79°F26.0°C
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.
| 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 Salt Lake City, Utah is currently 26.0°C, and falling about 22.0°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 best weekend slot right now is Saturday 8am–midday, on the basis that no rain since Monday, ground firm.
The next recommended window in Salt Lake City opens at 6pm on Tuesday 1 September, and holds while conditions stay put. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 3mm 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 25.9°C cooling to 0.0°C
Tuesday 1 September: Good. 6pm–8pm — heat stress — 27°C
Tuesday 1 September · 6pm–8pmConfident
6pm–8pm — heat stress — 27°C
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm3mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
- Poor:Temperature
- Heat stress27°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light18 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but fine
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–2pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm
Wednesday 2 September · 8am–2pmConfident
8am–2pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Monday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature17°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light14 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–1pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm
Thursday 3 September · 8am–1pmConfident
8am–1pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Monday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature14°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light8 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Friday 4 September: Good. 8am–1pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm
Friday 4 September · 8am–1pmConfident
8am–1pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Monday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.59
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature20°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light8 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–midday — no rain since Monday, ground firm
Saturday 5 September · 8am–middayReasonably confident
8am–midday — no rain since Monday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Monday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm3mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.56
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature20°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light8 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Sunday 6 September: Good. midday–8pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm
Sunday 6 September · midday–8pmReasonably confident
midday–8pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Monday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.63
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature20°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light10 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed
Limiting factor:none
Monday 7 September: Good. 1pm–4pm — cool — 26°C
Monday 7 September · 1pm–4pmReasonably confident
1pm–4pm — cool — 26°C
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm3mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.83
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light8 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed
Limiting factor:temperature
Tuesday 8 September: Not worth it. No — ground waterlogged.
Tuesday 8 SeptemberReasonably confident
No — ground waterlogged.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 5 hours ago
- Marginal:Ground firmness
- Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light12 km/h
Limiting factor:ground firmness
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 firm11mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.94
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light1 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 firm11mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.88
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light6 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Nearby
Your own postcode
These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.