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Pennsylvania · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Washington County, Pennsylvania

Washington County had 12 maple operations and 4,817 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Washington, sap usually runs from February 13 to March 16. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 130 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Feb 13
typical year
Season ends
Mar 16
about 4 weeks
Sap days / season
46.6
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
4,817
#18 of 45 in PA

Sap-flow outlook at Washington right now

Full Pennsylvania forecast →

Forecast for Washington, PA

Updated Oct 6, 8:36 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Washington County's season usually opens around February 13, which is 130 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    42° / 72°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    53° / 72°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    45° / 68°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    45° / 72°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    52° / 69°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    55° / 72°
    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 Washington

Freeze-thaw weather at Washington peaks in the weeks of Jan 26 to Mar 30, which hold about 55% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Feb 13 – Mar 160246Week of Dec 1: 2.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 2.4 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 2.5 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 3.2 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 3.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.3 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: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Feb 13
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Washington, 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 8; the middle half of seasons fell between Jan 27 and Feb 15. Earliest Jan 12 (2023), latest Feb 27 (2015).
Closing signal
Median Mar 13; middle half between Feb 26 and Mar 19. Earliest Feb 14 (2005), latest Apr 2 (2015).
Sap days by month
Dec23%Jan17%Feb21%Mar27%Apr11%May1%

36 seasons of sap weather

Washington County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Washington was 1999 with 59 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2003 with 25. 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 30 – Mar 3, 39 sap days3920252025: Feb 8 – Mar 10, 49 sap days4920242024: Feb 3 – Feb 26, 50 sap days5020232023: Jan 12 – Feb 15, 57 sap days5720222022: Feb 8 – Mar 14, 49 sap days4920212021: Feb 16 – Mar 23, 52 sap days5220202020: Jan 28 – Mar 3, 50 sap days5020192019: Feb 7 – Mar 14, 48 sap days4820182018: Jan 26 – Feb 18, 54 sap days5420172017: Jan 14 – Feb 18, 44 sap days4420162016: Feb 3 – Mar 8, 47 sap days4720152015: Feb 27 – Apr 2, 44 sap days4420142014: Feb 26 – Apr 1, 41 sap days4120132013: Feb 25 – Mar 31, 48 sap days4820122012: Feb 1 – Mar 8, 57 sap days5720112011: Feb 13 – Mar 20, 32 sap days3220102010: Feb 15 – Mar 18, 39 sap days3920092009: Feb 10 – Mar 15, 51 sap days5120082008: Feb 11 – Mar 18, 49 sap days4920072007: Feb 8 – Mar 13, 37 sap days3720062006: Jan 16 – Feb 15, 47 sap days4720052005: Jan 25 – Feb 14, 39 sap days3920042004: Feb 12 – Mar 19, 46 sap days4620032003: Feb 18 – Mar 24, 25 sap days2520022002: Jan 21 – Feb 25, 49 sap days4920012001: Feb 22 – Mar 29, 48 sap days4820002000: Jan 23 – Feb 22, 51 sap days5119991999: Jan 27 – Mar 3, 59 sap days5919981998: Jan 15 – Feb 16, 47 sap days4719971997: Jan 25 – Feb 26, 53 sap days5319961996: Feb 10 – Mar 17, 47 sap days4719951995: Feb 15 – Mar 12, 48 sap days4819941994: Feb 21 – Mar 27, 42 sap days4219931993: Feb 19 – Mar 20, 39 sap days3919921992: Jan 29 – Mar 3, 52 sap days5219911991: Feb 8 – Mar 15, 49 sap days49
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Washington. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Washington County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Washington County the 2022 Census found 12 farms making syrup, with taps null and syrup output null over the same five years. That works out to about 0.25 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022. Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Washington County ranks 193 by taps.

Washington County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
2022124,8171,2170.25
2017000—

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 Washington (1,135ft), 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

Washington County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Washington County, Pennsylvania?
In a typical year the sap starts running around February 13 near Washington and the season winds down around March 16. 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 12 and as late as Feb 27.
How much maple syrup does Washington County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 12 maple operations in Washington County with 4,817 taps producing 1,217 gallons of syrup, ranking 18 of 45 Pennsylvania's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Washington County get in a season?
On average 46.6 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Washington, of which about 13.9 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 1999 (59 sap days); the leanest was 2003 (25).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Washington (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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