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Wisconsin · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Waushara County, Wisconsin

Waushara County had 14 maple operations and 1,017 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Wautoma, sap usually runs from March 13 to April 8. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 158 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 13
typical year
Season ends
Apr 8
about 4 weeks
Sap days / season
39.4
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
1,017
#41 of 60 in WI

Sap-flow outlook at Wautoma right now

Full Wisconsin forecast →

Forecast for Wautoma, WI

Updated Oct 6, 9:36 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Waushara County's season usually opens around March 13, which is 158 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    50° / 71°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    44° / 65°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    40° / 67°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    48° / 75°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    57° / 77°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    54° / 67°
    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 Wautoma

Freeze-thaw weather at Wautoma peaks in the weeks of Mar 2 to Apr 6, which hold about 48% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 13 – Apr 80246Week of Dec 1: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 0.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.3 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.8 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: 3.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 3.6 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 3.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 3.4 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 2.8 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.7 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.5 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.3 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 13
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Wautoma, 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 10; the middle half of seasons fell between Mar 1 and Mar 17. Earliest Feb 13 (2012), latest Mar 27 (2018).
Closing signal
Median Apr 11; middle half between Apr 1 and Apr 16. Earliest Mar 12 (2012), latest Apr 29 (2018).
Sap days by month
Dec15%Jan8%Feb15%Mar36%Apr24%May3%

36 seasons of sap weather

Waushara County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Wautoma was 2024 with 67 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 2008 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 24 – Mar 29, 46 sap days4620252025: Mar 7 – Apr 11, 53 sap days5320242024: Feb 19 – Mar 26, 67 sap days6720232023: Mar 10 – Apr 9, 56 sap days5620222022: Mar 19 – Apr 17, 45 sap days4520212021: Mar 1 – Apr 3, 45 sap days4520202020: Mar 9 – Apr 12, 49 sap days4920192019: Mar 14 – Apr 15, 32 sap days3220182018: Mar 27 – Apr 29, 58 sap days5820172017: Feb 28 – Apr 2, 29 sap days2920162016: Mar 20 – Mar 28, 33 sap days3320152015: Mar 7 – Apr 11, 32 sap days3220142014: Mar 18 – Apr 18, 33 sap days3320132013: Mar 26 – Apr 24, 33 sap days3320122012: Feb 13 – Mar 12, 48 sap days4820112011: Mar 20 – Apr 22, 29 sap days2920102010: Feb 27 – Mar 30, 33 sap days3320092009: Mar 13 – Apr 17, 41 sap days4120082008: Mar 18 – Apr 16, 24 sap days2420072007: Feb 23 – Mar 21, 36 sap days3620062006: Mar 7 – Apr 9, 35 sap days3520052005: Mar 4 – Apr 3, 36 sap days3620042004: Mar 5 – Apr 8, 45 sap days4520032003: Mar 9 – Apr 13, 34 sap days3420022002: Mar 10 – Apr 7, 50 sap days5020012001: Mar 14 – Apr 18, 25 sap days2520002000: Feb 21 – Mar 21, 39 sap days3919991999: Feb 27 – Mar 27, 37 sap days3719981998: Feb 25 – Mar 25, 29 sap days2919971997: Mar 11 – Apr 14, 32 sap days3219961996: Mar 19 – Apr 18, 43 sap days4319951995: Mar 10 – Apr 14, 39 sap days3919941994: Mar 12 – Apr 11, 38 sap days3819931993: Mar 21 – Apr 22, 34 sap days3419921992: Mar 16 – Apr 15, 44 sap days4419911991: Mar 2 – Apr 3, 37 sap days37
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Wautoma. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Waushara County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Waushara County the 2022 Census found 14 farms making syrup (+56% since 2017), with taps +61% and syrup output +60% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.20 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.20 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Waushara County ranks 281 by taps.

Waushara County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
2022141,0172030.20
201796331270.20

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 Wautoma (899ft), 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 Wisconsin'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 — Wisconsin, 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

Waushara County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Waushara County, Wisconsin?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 13 near Wautoma 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 13 and as late as Mar 27.
How much maple syrup does Waushara County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 14 maple operations in Waushara County with 1,017 taps producing 203 gallons of syrup, ranking 41 of 60 Wisconsin's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Waushara County get in a season?
On average 39.4 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Wautoma, of which about 10.6 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2024 (67 sap days); the leanest was 2008 (24).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Wautoma (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for Wisconsin. 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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