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Michigan · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Iosco County, Michigan

Iosco County had 6 maple operations in the 2022 Census (tap totals withheld). Around Tawas City, sap usually runs from March 8 to April 8. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 153 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 8
typical year
Season ends
Apr 8
about 4 weeks
Sap days / season
38
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
withheld
6 farms

Sap-flow outlook at Tawas City right now

Full Michigan forecast →

Forecast for Tawas City, MI

Updated Oct 6, 10:42 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Iosco County's season usually opens around March 8, which is 153 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    54° / 72°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    43° / 63°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    39° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    46° / 66°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    54° / 71°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    53° / 65°
    No refreeze forecast

Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.

When the sap runs

The sugaring calendar at Tawas City

Freeze-thaw weather at Tawas City peaks in the weeks of Feb 23 to Apr 6, which hold about 50% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 8 – Apr 80246Week of Dec 1: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 3.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 3.0 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.2 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 8
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Tawas City, 1991–2026. A sap day is an overnight low under 30.2 °F followed by an afternoon high over 37.4 °F. The shaded band is the typical season.

Year-to-year spread

Opening signal
Median Mar 12; the middle half of seasons fell between Mar 3 and Mar 17. Earliest Feb 14 (2012), latest Mar 26 (2018).
Closing signal
Median Apr 11; middle half between Apr 4 and Apr 17. Earliest Mar 16 (2012), latest Apr 30 (2018).
Sap days by month
Dec17%Jan10%Feb16%Mar33%Apr22%May1%

36 seasons of sap weather

Iosco County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Tawas City was 2020 with 58 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2011 with 24. Seasons that start early tend to end early too: the trees run on the swing between freezing nights and mild days, and heat ends it.
JanFebMarAprMaysap days20262026: Mar 9 – Apr 11, 29 sap days2920252025: Mar 13 – Apr 17, 44 sap days4420242024: Feb 28 – Apr 2, 37 sap days3720232023: Mar 8 – Apr 8, 44 sap days4420222022: Mar 19 – Apr 21, 37 sap days3720212021: Mar 3 – Apr 4, 44 sap days4420202020: Mar 8 – Apr 12, 58 sap days5820192019: Mar 16 – Apr 11, 34 sap days3420182018: Mar 26 – Apr 30, 49 sap days4920172017: Feb 28 – Mar 29, 28 sap days2820162016: Mar 13 – Apr 16, 43 sap days4320152015: Mar 17 – Apr 15, 33 sap days3320142014: Mar 24 – Apr 24, 28 sap days2820132013: Mar 23 – Apr 26, 42 sap days4220122012: Feb 14 – Mar 16, 46 sap days4620112011: Mar 20 – Apr 21, 24 sap days2420102010: Feb 27 – Mar 31, 39 sap days3920092009: Mar 14 – Apr 17, 37 sap days3720082008: Mar 14 – Apr 17, 30 sap days3020072007: Feb 27 – Mar 22, 29 sap days2920062006: Mar 8 – Apr 10, 39 sap days3920052005: Mar 10 – Apr 9, 25 sap days2520042004: Mar 12 – Apr 16, 45 sap days4520032003: Mar 16 – Apr 17, 32 sap days3220022002: Mar 12 – Apr 11, 56 sap days5620012001: Mar 11 – Apr 5, 34 sap days3420002000: Feb 17 – Mar 20, 40 sap days4019991999: Mar 2 – Mar 31, 48 sap days4819981998: Feb 24 – Mar 24, 42 sap days4219971997: Mar 17 – Apr 20, 33 sap days3319961996: Mar 18 – Apr 18, 34 sap days3419951995: Mar 9 – Apr 10, 31 sap days3119941994: Mar 13 – Apr 11, 32 sap days3219931993: Mar 19 – Apr 22, 35 sap days3519921992: Mar 19 – Apr 16, 46 sap days4619911991: Mar 2 – Apr 3, 41 sap days41
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Tawas City. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Iosco County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Iosco County the 2022 Census found 6 farms making syrup (+50% since 2017).

Iosco County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
20226withheldwithheld—
201744,8002,2000.46

“Withheld” means USDA suppressed the figure to avoid disclosing data for individual operations; the farm count is still published.

Nearby

Neighboring maple counties

Distances are between reference towns; typical dates are each county's own estimate.

About these numbers

The season dates are estimated from 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures for the PRISM 4-km grid cell at Tawas City (577ft), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast: a sap day is an overnight low under 30.2 °F followed by an afternoon high over 37.4 °F. Each season's closing signal is the last sap day before accumulated warmth reaches a threshold, and the opening signal sits five weeks before that, never earlier than the first real freeze-thaw week. Tested against 117 state-seasons of USDA-reported dates, the rule lands within 5.5 days of the reported close and 6.6 days of the reported opening on average, and the typical dates shown here are scaled to Michigan's USDA record (12 years). Production figures are copied from the Census as published. Full method, calibration tables and the downloadable dataset →

Sources · 6

  1. 1.2022 Census of Agriculture, County Level Data — Michigan, Table 37: Maple Syrup, 2022 and 2017 · USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
  2. 2.PRISM daily temperature grids (AN81d, 4 km), accessed 2026-10-05 · PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu
  3. 3.Applied Climate Information System (ACIS) web services · NOAA Regional Climate Centers
  4. 4.USDA NASS maple syrup reports — approximate average season opened and closed dates, 2011–2022 · USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (mirrored by the University of Vermont)
  5. 5.Sap flow in sugar maple: timing and weather drivers (Frontiers in Agronomy, 2025) · de Lima Santos et al.
  6. 6.GeoNames gazetteer (cities500), CC BY 4.0 · GeoNames

FAQ

Iosco County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Iosco County, Michigan?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 8 near Tawas City and the season winds down around April 8. Have your taps in a day or two before the first forecast string of freezing nights and 40 °F days. In the past 36 seasons the weather signal came as early as Feb 14 and as late as Mar 26.
How much maple syrup does Iosco County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 6 maple operations in Iosco County; USDA withheld the county's tap and gallon totals to avoid disclosing individual farms.
How many sap days does Iosco County get in a season?
On average 38 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Tawas City, of which about 15 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2020 (58 sap days); the leanest was 2011 (24).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Tawas City (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for Michigan. They describe a typical year at one point in the county; your sugarbush, slope and elevation can shift them by days.

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