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New York · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Albany County, New York

Albany County had 14 maple operations and 11,925 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Albany, sap usually runs from February 19 to March 27. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 136 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Feb 19
typical year
Season ends
Mar 27
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
39.5
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
11,925
#36 of 50 in NY

Sap-flow outlook at Albany right now

Full New York forecast →

Forecast for Albany, NY

Updated Oct 6, 8:37 AM EDT

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    35° / 66°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    51° / 69°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    47° / 63°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    46° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    46° / 67°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    52° / 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 Albany

Freeze-thaw weather at Albany peaks in the weeks of Feb 2 to Apr 6, which hold about 60% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Feb 19 – Mar 270246Week of Dec 1: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 0.2 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Feb 19
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Albany, 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 Feb 23; the middle half of seasons fell between Feb 14 and Mar 3. Earliest Jan 30 (2020), latest Mar 12 (2015).
Closing signal
Median Mar 27; middle half between Mar 21 and Apr 4. Earliest Mar 3 (2020), latest Apr 12 (2015).
Sap days by month
Dec22%Jan15%Feb22%Mar31%Apr10%May0%

36 seasons of sap weather

Albany County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Albany was 2002 with 60 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2010 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: Feb 23 – Mar 30, 38 sap days3820252025: Feb 14 – Mar 19, 32 sap days3220242024: Feb 1 – Mar 3, 35 sap days3520232023: Feb 13 – Mar 20, 50 sap days5020222022: Feb 17 – Mar 23, 33 sap days3320212021: Feb 23 – Mar 30, 38 sap days3820202020: Jan 30 – Mar 3, 41 sap days4120192019: Feb 23 – Mar 27, 39 sap days3920182018: Feb 21 – Mar 27, 38 sap days3820172017: Feb 1 – Mar 7, 40 sap days4020162016: Feb 5 – Mar 8, 46 sap days4620152015: Mar 12 – Apr 12, 25 sap days2520142014: Mar 8 – Apr 10, 44 sap days4420132013: Mar 3 – Apr 7, 44 sap days4420122012: Feb 11 – Mar 12, 57 sap days5720112011: Mar 5 – Apr 9, 33 sap days3320102010: Feb 13 – Mar 17, 24 sap days2420092009: Feb 26 – Mar 26, 35 sap days3520082008: Mar 4 – Apr 5, 48 sap days4820072007: Feb 23 – Mar 30, 42 sap days4220062006: Feb 16 – Mar 23, 44 sap days4420052005: Mar 3 – Mar 27, 38 sap days3820042004: Feb 27 – Mar 25, 31 sap days3120032003: Mar 8 – Apr 2, 32 sap days3220022002: Feb 17 – Mar 24, 60 sap days6020012001: Mar 10 – Apr 5, 34 sap days3420002000: Feb 14 – Mar 21, 38 sap days3819991999: Feb 25 – Mar 27, 45 sap days4519981998: Feb 20 – Mar 26, 39 sap days3919971997: Mar 1 – Apr 3, 36 sap days3619961996: Feb 28 – Apr 2, 36 sap days3619951995: Feb 10 – Mar 14, 47 sap days4719941994: Mar 9 – Apr 5, 32 sap days3219931993: Mar 6 – Apr 7, 32 sap days3219921992: Mar 6 – Apr 10, 50 sap days5019911991: Feb 20 – Mar 21, 46 sap days46
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Albany. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Albany County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Albany County the 2022 Census found 14 farms making syrup (+8% since 2017), with taps +269% and syrup output +422% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.20 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.14 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Albany County ranks 121 by taps.

Albany County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
20221411,9252,3980.20
2017133,2284590.14

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 Albany (138ft), 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 New York'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 — New York, 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

Albany County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Albany County, New York?
In a typical year the sap starts running around February 19 near Albany and the season winds down around March 27. 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 Jan 30 and as late as Mar 12.
How much maple syrup does Albany County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 14 maple operations in Albany County with 11,925 taps producing 2,398 gallons of syrup, ranking 36 of 50 New York's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Albany County get in a season?
On average 39.5 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Albany, of which about 13.7 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2002 (60 sap days); the leanest was 2010 (24).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Albany (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for New York. 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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