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Ohio · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Licking County, Ohio

Licking County had 6 maple operations and 4,895 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Newark, sap usually runs from February 14 to March 24. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 131 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Feb 14
typical year
Season ends
Mar 24
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
44.5
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
4,895
#18 of 63 in OH

Sap-flow outlook at Newark right now

Full Ohio forecast →

Forecast for Newark, OH

Updated Oct 6, 4:00 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Licking County's season usually opens around February 14, which is 131 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    43° / 74°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    51° / 73°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    44° / 70°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    44° / 74°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    52° / 72°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    55° / 75°
    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 Newark

Freeze-thaw weather at Newark peaks in the weeks of Jan 26 to Mar 30, which hold about 57% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Feb 14 – Mar 240246Week of Dec 1: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 2.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 1.5 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 2.5 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 3.1 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 0.7 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: 0.1 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 14
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Newark, 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 9; the middle half of seasons fell between Jan 27 and Feb 14. Earliest Jan 10 (2017), latest Feb 25 (2014).
Closing signal
Median Mar 14; middle half between Mar 2 and Mar 19. Earliest Feb 11 (2017), latest Mar 31 (2014).
Sap days by month
Dec24%Jan17%Feb22%Mar28%Apr9%May0%

36 seasons of sap weather

Licking County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Newark was 1999 with 60 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2003 with 22. 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: Jan 31 – Mar 3, 42 sap days4220252025: Feb 8 – Mar 10, 44 sap days4420242024: Jan 22 – Feb 26, 51 sap days5120232023: Jan 12 – Feb 15, 51 sap days5120222022: Feb 9 – Mar 14, 49 sap days4920212021: Feb 14 – Mar 21, 47 sap days4720202020: Jan 29 – Mar 3, 50 sap days5020192019: Feb 7 – Mar 13, 46 sap days4620182018: Jan 26 – Feb 18, 59 sap days5920172017: Jan 10 – Feb 11, 39 sap days3920162016: Feb 2 – Mar 2, 37 sap days3720152015: Feb 24 – Mar 30, 37 sap days3720142014: Feb 25 – Mar 31, 31 sap days3120132013: Feb 20 – Mar 23, 48 sap days4820122012: Jan 27 – Mar 3, 47 sap days4720112011: Feb 12 – Mar 12, 30 sap days3020102010: Feb 14 – Mar 18, 35 sap days3520092009: Feb 9 – Mar 15, 41 sap days4120082008: Feb 13 – Mar 19, 44 sap days4420072007: Feb 14 – Mar 19, 42 sap days4220062006: Jan 16 – Feb 15, 41 sap days4120052005: Feb 4 – Mar 6, 36 sap days3620042004: Feb 19 – Mar 25, 52 sap days5220032003: Feb 20 – Mar 15, 22 sap days2220022002: Jan 26 – Mar 2, 52 sap days5220012001: Feb 16 – Mar 23, 41 sap days4120002000: Jan 26 – Mar 2, 49 sap days4919991999: Feb 11 – Mar 17, 60 sap days6019981998: Jan 22 – Feb 16, 47 sap days4719971997: Jan 27 – Feb 28, 52 sap days5219961996: Feb 13 – Mar 17, 43 sap days4319951995: Feb 15 – Mar 14, 51 sap days5119941994: Feb 19 – Mar 26, 45 sap days4519931993: Feb 21 – Mar 20, 43 sap days4319921992: Jan 28 – Mar 3, 52 sap days5219911991: Feb 9 – Mar 16, 46 sap days46
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Newark. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Licking County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Licking County the 2022 Census found 6 farms making syrup (-81% since 2017), with taps -36% and syrup output -8% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.19 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.13 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Licking County ranks 192 by taps.

Licking County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
202264,8959090.19
2017327,6619840.13

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 Newark (876ft), 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 Ohio's USDA record (8 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 — Ohio, 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

Licking County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Licking County, Ohio?
In a typical year the sap starts running around February 14 near Newark and the season winds down around March 24. 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 10 and as late as Feb 25.
How much maple syrup does Licking County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 6 maple operations in Licking County with 4,895 taps producing 909 gallons of syrup, ranking 18 of 63 Ohio's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Licking County get in a season?
On average 44.5 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Newark, 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 1999 (60 sap days); the leanest was 2003 (22).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Newark (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for Ohio. 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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