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Pennsylvania · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Potter County, Pennsylvania

Potter County had 36 maple operations and 102,740 taps in the 2022 Census, number 4 in Pennsylvania. Around Coudersport, sap usually runs from March 9 to April 8. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 154 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 9
typical year
Season ends
Apr 8
about 4 weeks
Sap days / season
46.5
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
102,740
#4 of 45 in PA

Sap-flow outlook at Coudersport right now

Full Pennsylvania forecast →

Forecast for Coudersport, PA

Updated Oct 6, 8:31 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Potter County's season usually opens around March 9, which is 154 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    39° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    49° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    40° / 61°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    40° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    45° / 67°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    50° / 65°
    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 Coudersport

Freeze-thaw weather at Coudersport peaks in the weeks of Feb 16 to Apr 20, which hold about 58% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 9 – Apr 80246Week of Dec 1: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.7 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.5 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 3.2 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.1 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 3.3 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 3.3 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.5 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.1 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 9
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Coudersport, 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 4; the middle half of seasons fell between Feb 26 and Mar 10. Earliest Feb 7 (2024), latest Mar 17 (2001).
Closing signal
Median Apr 5; middle half between Mar 31 and Apr 13. Earliest Mar 13 (2024), latest Apr 20 (1996).
Sap days by month
Dec16%Jan10%Feb16%Mar27%Apr25%May5%

36 seasons of sap weather

Potter County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Coudersport was 2012 with 65 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2011 with 28. 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 22 – Mar 29, 42 sap days4220252025: Feb 25 – Apr 1, 35 sap days3520242024: Feb 7 – Mar 13, 40 sap days4020232023: Feb 26 – Apr 2, 58 sap days5820222022: Feb 26 – Apr 2, 43 sap days4320212021: Feb 28 – Apr 4, 34 sap days3420202020: Feb 23 – Mar 27, 61 sap days6120192019: Mar 10 – Apr 6, 44 sap days4420182018: Mar 10 – Apr 12, 48 sap days4820172017: Feb 18 – Mar 24, 41 sap days4120162016: Feb 20 – Mar 27, 57 sap days5720152015: Mar 15 – Apr 15, 36 sap days3620142014: Mar 16 – Apr 20, 47 sap days4720132013: Mar 13 – Apr 9, 42 sap days4220122012: Feb 14 – Mar 16, 65 sap days6520112011: Mar 16 – Apr 18, 28 sap days2820102010: Feb 27 – Apr 1, 47 sap days4720092009: Mar 5 – Apr 9, 50 sap days5020082008: Mar 10 – Apr 11, 40 sap days4020072007: Feb 26 – Mar 31, 44 sap days4420062006: Feb 26 – Mar 30, 43 sap days4320052005: Mar 10 – Apr 14, 51 sap days5120042004: Mar 10 – Apr 13, 39 sap days3920032003: Mar 8 – Apr 12, 32 sap days3220022002: Feb 26 – Apr 2, 57 sap days5720012001: Mar 17 – Apr 20, 40 sap days4020002000: Mar 1 – Mar 21, 51 sap days5119991999: Mar 6 – Apr 10, 56 sap days5619981998: Feb 21 – Mar 26, 47 sap days4719971997: Mar 1 – Apr 3, 57 sap days5719961996: Mar 16 – Apr 20, 49 sap days4919951995: Mar 4 – Apr 8, 62 sap days6219941994: Mar 14 – Apr 18, 51 sap days5119931993: Mar 11 – Apr 15, 41 sap days4119921992: Mar 14 – Apr 17, 48 sap days4819911991: Mar 3 – Apr 4, 47 sap days47
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Coudersport. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Potter County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Potter County the 2022 Census found 36 farms making syrup (-5% since 2017), with taps -18% and syrup output -2% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.23 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.19 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Potter County ranks 27 by taps.

Potter County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
202236102,74023,2070.23
201738125,59723,7530.19

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 Coudersport (2,051ft), 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 Pennsylvania'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 — Pennsylvania, 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

Potter County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Potter County, Pennsylvania?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 9 near Coudersport and the season winds down around April 8. 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 7 and as late as Mar 17.
How much maple syrup does Potter County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 36 maple operations in Potter County with 102,740 taps producing 23,207 gallons of syrup, ranking 4 of 45 Pennsylvania's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Potter County get in a season?
On average 46.5 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Coudersport, of which about 11.6 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2012 (65 sap days); the leanest was 2011 (28).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Coudersport (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for Pennsylvania. 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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