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Michigan · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Ogemaw County, Michigan

Ogemaw County had 5 maple operations and 2,236 taps in the 2022 Census. Around West Branch, sap usually runs from March 10 to April 14. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 155 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 10
typical year
Season ends
Apr 14
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
46.6
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
2,236
#47 of 66 in MI

Sap-flow outlook at West Branch right now

Full Michigan forecast →

Forecast for West Branch, MI

Updated Oct 6, 10:42 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Ogemaw County's season usually opens around March 10, which is 155 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    53° / 69°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    44° / 61°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    37° / 64°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    41° / 69°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    50° / 75°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    49° / 67°
    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 West Branch

Freeze-thaw weather at West Branch peaks in the weeks of Mar 2 to Apr 20, which hold about 58% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 10 – Apr 140246Week of Dec 1: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 3.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 4.1 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 3.8 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 4.0 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 3.2 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.2 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 10
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at West Branch, 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 14; the middle half of seasons fell between Mar 9 and Mar 20. Earliest Feb 15 (2012), latest Mar 28 (2018).
Closing signal
Median Apr 17; middle half between Apr 9 and Apr 21. Earliest Mar 16 (2012), latest Apr 30 (2018).
Sap days by month
Dec13%Jan7%Feb13%Mar33%Apr29%May6%

36 seasons of sap weather

Ogemaw County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at West Branch was 2002 with 71 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2001 with 34. 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 10 – Apr 12, 45 sap days4520252025: Mar 17 – Apr 20, 48 sap days4820242024: Mar 3 – Apr 7, 47 sap days4720232023: Mar 10 – Apr 9, 48 sap days4820222022: Mar 21 – Apr 22, 41 sap days4120212021: Mar 4 – Apr 4, 50 sap days5020202020: Mar 16 – Apr 20, 54 sap days5420192019: Mar 19 – Apr 16, 42 sap days4220182018: Mar 28 – Apr 30, 52 sap days5220172017: Mar 5 – Apr 8, 39 sap days3920162016: Mar 14 – Apr 17, 51 sap days5120152015: Mar 17 – Apr 19, 38 sap days3820142014: Mar 24 – Apr 27, 39 sap days3920132013: Mar 26 – Apr 27, 49 sap days4920122012: Feb 15 – Mar 16, 53 sap days5320112011: Mar 23 – Apr 24, 36 sap days3620102010: Feb 27 – Mar 31, 51 sap days5120092009: Mar 19 – Apr 23, 49 sap days4920082008: Mar 17 – Apr 17, 36 sap days3620072007: Mar 13 – Apr 17, 37 sap days3720062006: Mar 10 – Apr 10, 43 sap days4320052005: Mar 10 – Apr 14, 46 sap days4620042004: Mar 13 – Apr 16, 51 sap days5120032003: Mar 15 – Apr 18, 42 sap days4220022002: Mar 13 – Apr 13, 71 sap days7120012001: Mar 14 – Apr 18, 34 sap days3420002000: Feb 28 – Mar 20, 48 sap days4819991999: Mar 3 – Mar 30, 51 sap days5119981998: Mar 2 – Apr 6, 39 sap days3919971997: Mar 21 – Apr 21, 40 sap days4019961996: Mar 21 – Apr 25, 49 sap days4919951995: Mar 13 – Apr 16, 54 sap days5419941994: Mar 18 – Apr 22, 58 sap days5819931993: Mar 21 – Apr 23, 43 sap days4319921992: Mar 23 – Apr 17, 54 sap days5419911991: Mar 4 – Apr 3, 51 sap days51
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at West Branch. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Ogemaw County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Ogemaw County the 2022 Census found 5 farms making syrup (+25% since 2017), with taps -78% and syrup output -82% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.27 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.33 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Ogemaw County ranks 246 by taps.

Ogemaw County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
202252,2366100.27
2017410,0003,3220.33

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 West Branch (1,014ft), 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

Ogemaw County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Ogemaw County, Michigan?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 10 near West Branch and the season winds down around April 14. 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 15 and as late as Mar 28.
How much maple syrup does Ogemaw County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 5 maple operations in Ogemaw County with 2,236 taps producing 610 gallons of syrup, ranking 47 of 66 Michigan's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Ogemaw County get in a season?
On average 46.6 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at West Branch, of which about 11.9 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2002 (71 sap days); the leanest was 2001 (34).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at West Branch (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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