Soil temperature in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Soil temperature
80°F26.5°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 Sioux Falls, South Dakota is currently 26.5°C, and falling about 23.4°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.
8 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The best weekend slot right now is Monday 10am–midday, on the basis that dried off since a shower 4 hours ago, ground firm.
The next recommended window in Sioux Falls opens at 8pm on Tuesday 1 September, because anything earlier is the hour your neighbours will remember. 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 26.1°C cooling to 0.0°C
Tuesday 1 September: Good. 8pm–9pm — heat stress — 27°C
Tuesday 1 September · 8pm–9pmConfident
8pm–9pm — heat stress — 27°C
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain in the record
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.75
- Poor:Temperature
- Heat stress27°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light17 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Your neighbours will remember itstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 2 September: Good. midday–3pm — cool — 25°C
Wednesday 2 September · midday–3pmConfident
midday–3pm — cool — 25°C
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.84
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light12 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:temperature
Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–midday — no rain since Tuesday, ground firm
Thursday 3 September · 8am–middayConfident
8am–midday — no rain since Tuesday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Tuesday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.38
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light14 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Friday 4 September: Good. 8am–10am — barely growing — growth potential 0.18
Friday 4 September · 8am–10amConfident
8am–10am — barely growing — growth potential 0.18
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Tuesday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
- Poor:Growth
- Barely growinggrowth potential 0.18
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light10 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–10am — barely growing — growth potential 0.19
Saturday 5 September · 8am–10amReasonably confident
8am–10am — barely growing — growth potential 0.19
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 3 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
- Poor:Growth
- Barely growinggrowth potential 0.19
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature22°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light11 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 — growing slowly — growth potential 0.31
Sunday 6 September · 10am–11amReasonably confident
10am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.31
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 5 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.31
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light2 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Monday 7 September: Good. 10am–midday — dried off since a shower 4 hours ago, ground firm
Monday 7 September · 10am–middayReasonably confident
10am–midday — dried off since a shower 4 hours ago, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 4 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.53
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature20°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light9 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:temperature
Tuesday 8 September: Good. 11am–1pm — cool — 25°C
Tuesday 8 September · 11am–1pmReasonably confident
11am–1pm — cool — 25°C
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm17mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light12 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts 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 drydried off since a shower 4 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm20mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.76
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Marginal:Wind
- Wind light21 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 Wednesday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm5mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.74
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature11°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light12 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Nearby
Your own postcode
These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.