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West Virginia · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Pocahontas County, West Virginia

Pocahontas County had 10 maple operations and 2,418 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Marlinton, sap usually runs from February 18 to March 27. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 135 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Feb 18
typical year
Season ends
Mar 27
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
66.7
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
2,418
#6 of 29 in WV

Sap-flow outlook at Marlinton right now

Full West Virginia forecast →

Forecast for Marlinton, WV

Updated Oct 6, 9:50 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Pocahontas County's season usually opens around February 18, which is 135 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    38° / 70°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    50° / 74°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    44° / 72°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    45° / 71°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    48° / 63°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    51° / 70°
    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 Marlinton

Freeze-thaw weather at Marlinton peaks in the weeks of Jan 26 to Apr 6, which hold about 57% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Feb 18 – Mar 270246Week of Dec 1: 3.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 3.1 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 3.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 3.0 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 2.5 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 2.5 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 2.3 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 3.5 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 3.4 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 3.5 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 3.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 3.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 3.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 3.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.5 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Feb 18
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Marlinton, 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 11; the middle half of seasons fell between Feb 3 and Feb 19. Earliest Jan 10 (2023), latest Mar 6 (2013).
Closing signal
Median Mar 16; middle half between Mar 8 and Mar 25. Earliest Feb 11 (2017), latest Apr 7 (2013).
Sap days by month
Dec21%Jan17%Feb21%Mar25%Apr14%May3%

36 seasons of sap weather

Pocahontas County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Marlinton was 1997 with 93 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2003 with 49. 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 1 – Mar 3, 55 sap days5520252025: Feb 7 – Mar 11, 58 sap days5820242024: Jan 23 – Feb 26, 57 sap days5720232023: Jan 10 – Feb 14, 54 sap days5420222022: Feb 2 – Mar 5, 64 sap days6420212021: Feb 13 – Mar 20, 60 sap days6020202020: Jan 22 – Feb 25, 70 sap days7020192019: Feb 6 – Mar 13, 65 sap days6520182018: Jan 20 – Feb 19, 65 sap days6520172017: Jan 25 – Feb 11, 55 sap days5520162016: Feb 7 – Mar 9, 59 sap days5920152015: Feb 25 – Apr 1, 63 sap days6320142014: Mar 1 – Apr 2, 69 sap days6920132013: Mar 6 – Apr 7, 69 sap days6920122012: Feb 8 – Mar 13, 81 sap days8120112011: Feb 16 – Mar 21, 60 sap days6020102010: Feb 24 – Mar 28, 49 sap days4920092009: Feb 12 – Mar 19, 64 sap days6420082008: Feb 16 – Mar 23, 70 sap days7020072007: Feb 17 – Mar 23, 62 sap days6220062006: Feb 6 – Mar 9, 69 sap days6920052005: Feb 7 – Mar 14, 73 sap days7320042004: Feb 21 – Mar 26, 67 sap days6720032003: Feb 18 – Mar 25, 49 sap days4920022002: Feb 11 – Mar 13, 81 sap days8120012001: Mar 3 – Apr 6, 76 sap days7620002000: Feb 3 – Mar 9, 90 sap days9019991999: Feb 24 – Mar 31, 79 sap days7919981998: Feb 20 – Mar 26, 68 sap days6819971997: Jan 29 – Mar 5, 93 sap days9319961996: Feb 18 – Mar 25, 66 sap days6619951995: Feb 6 – Mar 13, 71 sap days7119941994: Feb 17 – Mar 24, 69 sap days6919931993: Feb 22 – Mar 22, 59 sap days5919921992: Jan 30 – Mar 3, 74 sap days7419911991: Feb 10 – Mar 17, 69 sap days69
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Marlinton. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Pocahontas County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Pocahontas County the 2022 Census found 10 farms making syrup (+150% since 2017), with taps -7% and syrup output +73% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.37 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.20 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Pocahontas County ranks 241 by taps.

Pocahontas County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
2022102,4188880.37
201742,6005130.20

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 Marlinton (2,415ft), 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 West Virginia's USDA record (3 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 — West Virginia, 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

Pocahontas County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Pocahontas County, West Virginia?
In a typical year the sap starts running around February 18 near Marlinton 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 10 and as late as Mar 6.
How much maple syrup does Pocahontas County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 10 maple operations in Pocahontas County with 2,418 taps producing 888 gallons of syrup, ranking 6 of 29 West Virginia's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Pocahontas County get in a season?
On average 66.7 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Marlinton, of which about 15.4 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 1997 (93 sap days); the leanest was 2003 (49).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Marlinton (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for West Virginia. 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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