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New York · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Montgomery County, New York

Montgomery County had 9 maple operations in the 2022 Census (tap totals withheld). Around Fonda, sap usually runs from February 27 to April 5. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 144 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Feb 27
typical year
Season ends
Apr 5
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
39.6
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
withheld
9 farms

Sap-flow outlook at Fonda right now

Full New York forecast →

Forecast for Fonda, NY

Updated Oct 6, 8:37 AM EDT

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    32° / 68°

    0h below · 22h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    50° / 67°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    43° / 62°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    40° / 64°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    41° / 70°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    49° / 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 Fonda

Freeze-thaw weather at Fonda peaks in the weeks of Mar 2 to Apr 6, which hold about 42% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Feb 27 – Apr 50246Week of Dec 1: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.8 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 3.1 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.4 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.1 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 ~Feb 27
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Fonda, 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 3; the middle half of seasons fell between Feb 25 and Mar 9. Earliest Feb 10 (2024), latest Mar 18 (2018).
Closing signal
Median Apr 5; middle half between Mar 28 and Apr 11. Earliest Mar 13 (2012), latest Apr 22 (2018).
Sap days by month
Dec20%Jan12%Feb19%Mar33%Apr16%May1%

36 seasons of sap weather

Montgomery County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Fonda was 2012 with 61 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2015 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 27 – Mar 30, 27 sap days2720252025: Feb 25 – Mar 28, 33 sap days3320242024: Feb 10 – Mar 14, 34 sap days3420232023: Mar 2 – Apr 3, 43 sap days4320222022: Mar 1 – Apr 5, 36 sap days3620212021: Mar 1 – Apr 4, 30 sap days3020202020: Feb 20 – Mar 27, 48 sap days4820192019: Mar 8 – Apr 11, 39 sap days3920182018: Mar 18 – Apr 22, 42 sap days4220172017: Feb 28 – Mar 30, 36 sap days3620162016: Feb 16 – Mar 23, 46 sap days4620152015: Mar 15 – Apr 12, 24 sap days2420142014: Mar 11 – Apr 10, 43 sap days4320132013: Mar 11 – Apr 15, 50 sap days5020122012: Feb 14 – Mar 13, 61 sap days6120112011: Mar 9 – Apr 9, 27 sap days2720102010: Feb 22 – Mar 28, 28 sap days2820092009: Mar 3 – Mar 26, 38 sap days3820082008: Mar 9 – Apr 5, 42 sap days4220072007: Mar 10 – Apr 11, 42 sap days4220062006: Feb 23 – Mar 30, 45 sap days4520052005: Mar 6 – Apr 10, 48 sap days4820042004: Mar 6 – Apr 7, 35 sap days3520032003: Mar 11 – Apr 14, 34 sap days3420022002: Feb 25 – Mar 29, 54 sap days5420012001: Mar 16 – Apr 20, 31 sap days3120002000: Feb 19 – Mar 26, 45 sap days4519991999: Mar 1 – Apr 5, 46 sap days4619981998: Feb 22 – Mar 26, 39 sap days3919971997: Mar 9 – Apr 11, 37 sap days3719961996: Mar 9 – Apr 11, 37 sap days3719951995: Feb 16 – Mar 19, 46 sap days4619941994: Mar 12 – Apr 8, 43 sap days4319931993: Mar 9 – Apr 8, 32 sap days3219921992: Mar 17 – Apr 17, 43 sap days4319911991: Feb 28 – Apr 4, 42 sap days42
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Fonda. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Montgomery County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Montgomery County the 2022 Census found 9 farms making syrup (-10% since 2017).

Montgomery County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
20229withheldwithheld—
201710withheldwithheld—

“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 Fonda (407ft), 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

Montgomery County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Montgomery County, New York?
In a typical year the sap starts running around February 27 near Fonda and the season winds down around April 5. 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 10 and as late as Mar 18.
How much maple syrup does Montgomery County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 9 maple operations in Montgomery County; USDA withheld the county's tap and gallon totals to avoid disclosing individual farms.
How many sap days does Montgomery County get in a season?
On average 39.6 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Fonda, of which about 12.2 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2012 (61 sap days); the leanest was 2015 (24).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Fonda (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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