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New York · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Monroe County, New York

Monroe County had 5 maple operations in the 2022 Census (tap totals withheld). Around Rochester, sap usually runs from February 20 to March 27. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 137 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Feb 20
typical year
Season ends
Mar 27
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
32.3
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
withheld
5 farms

Sap-flow outlook at Rochester right now

Full New York forecast →

Forecast for Rochester, NY

Updated Oct 6, 9:58 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Monroe County's season usually opens around February 20, which is 137 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    45° / 69°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    51° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    44° / 62°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    44° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    51° / 72°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    55° / 68°
    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 Rochester

Freeze-thaw weather at Rochester peaks in the weeks of Feb 9 to Apr 6, which hold about 53% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Feb 20 – Mar 270246Week of Dec 1: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.5 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 1.5 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 0.4 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 20
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Rochester, 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 24; the middle half of seasons fell between Feb 17 and Mar 4. Earliest Jan 24 (2017), latest Mar 10 (2003).
Closing signal
Median Mar 27; middle half between Mar 20 and Apr 4. Earliest Feb 27 (2017), latest Apr 11 (1996).
Sap days by month
Dec23%Jan16%Feb21%Mar29%Apr11%May0%

36 seasons of sap weather

Monroe County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Rochester was 2020 with 43 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2007 with 20. 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 18 – Mar 25, 34 sap days3420252025: Feb 17 – Mar 24, 35 sap days3520242024: Feb 4 – Mar 3, 25 sap days2520232023: Feb 19 – Mar 20, 37 sap days3720222022: Feb 24 – Mar 31, 35 sap days3520212021: Feb 23 – Mar 21, 30 sap days3020202020: Feb 13 – Mar 19, 43 sap days4320192019: Mar 2 – Apr 4, 39 sap days3920182018: Feb 22 – Mar 26, 36 sap days3620172017: Jan 24 – Feb 27, 30 sap days3020162016: Feb 8 – Mar 13, 42 sap days4220152015: Mar 10 – Apr 1, 26 sap days2620142014: Mar 8 – Apr 6, 32 sap days3220132013: Mar 2 – Apr 6, 32 sap days3220122012: Feb 8 – Mar 12, 38 sap days3820112011: Mar 5 – Apr 7, 21 sap days2120102010: Feb 22 – Mar 28, 20 sap days2020092009: Feb 24 – Mar 31, 30 sap days3020082008: Mar 2 – Apr 4, 30 sap days3020072007: Feb 19 – Mar 22, 20 sap days2020062006: Feb 2 – Mar 9, 30 sap days3020052005: Mar 4 – Mar 27, 26 sap days2620042004: Feb 27 – Mar 26, 25 sap days2520032003: Mar 10 – Apr 11, 34 sap days3420022002: Feb 7 – Mar 13, 41 sap days4120012001: Mar 9 – Apr 4, 27 sap days2720002000: Feb 2 – Mar 6, 31 sap days3119991999: Feb 26 – Mar 28, 39 sap days3919981998: Feb 20 – Mar 26, 31 sap days3119971997: Feb 26 – Apr 1, 36 sap days3619961996: Mar 9 – Apr 11, 37 sap days3719951995: Feb 15 – Mar 11, 42 sap days4219941994: Mar 7 – Apr 8, 30 sap days3019931993: Mar 7 – Apr 5, 28 sap days2819921992: Mar 7 – Apr 7, 38 sap days3819911991: Feb 19 – Mar 21, 34 sap days34
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Rochester. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Monroe County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Monroe County the 2022 Census found 5 farms making syrup (-37% since 2017).

Monroe County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
20225withheldwithheld—
201781,0221380.14

“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 Rochester (476ft), 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

Monroe County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Monroe County, New York?
In a typical year the sap starts running around February 20 near Rochester 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 24 and as late as Mar 10.
How much maple syrup does Monroe County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 5 maple operations in Monroe County; USDA withheld the county's tap and gallon totals to avoid disclosing individual farms.
How many sap days does Monroe County get in a season?
On average 32.3 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Rochester, of which about 11.7 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2020 (43 sap days); the leanest was 2007 (20).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Rochester (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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