Kentucky sap flow forecast

The next several days for Kentucky's sugaring country, read the way a sugarmaker reads them: how cold the night gets, how warm the afternoon gets, and whether that adds up to a run. The season here usually opens late December to early January.

Crittenden County reports 2,930 of Kentucky's 12,206 taps (24%), the most of any county with published figures (2022 Census of Agriculture).

Forecast for Marion

Updated Sep 26, 9:16 AM EDT

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

Blue = below 32°F · Amber = thaw · dashed line = freezing

  1. SunSep 27
    72°high
    55°low
    0h frozen
    24h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 55°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

  2. MonSep 28
    73°high
    50°low
    0h frozen
    24h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 50°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

  3. TueSep 29
    78°high
    53°low
    0h frozen
    24h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 53°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

  4. WedSep 30
    80°high
    62°low
    0h frozen
    24h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 62°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

  5. ThuOct 1
    78°high
    69°low
    0h frozen
    24h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 69°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

  6. FriOct 2
    78°high
    65°low
    0h frozen
    20h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 65°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.

Central Kentucky reference point: Shelby County's Blues End Farm hosts Kentucky Maple Day (Kentucky Department of Agriculture, 2026).

Forecast for Shelbyville

Updated Sep 26, 8:46 AM EDT

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

Blue = below 32°F · Amber = thaw · dashed line = freezing

  1. SunSep 27
    74°high
    50°low
    0h frozen
    24h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 50°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

  2. MonSep 28
    75°high
    44°low
    0h frozen
    24h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 44°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

  3. TueSep 29
    75°high
    48°low
    0h frozen
    24h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 48°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

  4. WedSep 30
    78°high
    56°low
    0h frozen
    24h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 56°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

  5. ThuOct 1
    79°high
    65°low
    0h frozen
    24h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 65°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

  6. FriOct 2
    77°high
    64°low
    0h frozen
    21h thawed
    No freeze, no run

    Low of 64°F — trees need a hard freeze to reload. No freeze, no run.

Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.

Somewhere else in Kentucky?

Your sugarbush, your forecast

Hourly temperatures for your exact spot, turned into a day-by-day sap-run outlook. US and Canada.

Planning ahead? Typical tapping dates for Kentucky →

Data & method

  1. National Weather Service API — NOAA National Weather Service
  2. Sap flow in sugar maple: timing and weather drivers (Frontiers in Agronomy, 2025) — de Lima Santos et al.
  3. Maple Sugaring Tips for Beginners and Backyard Maple Sugar Producers — UNH Extension
  4. North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual, 2nd ed. (Bulletin 856) — The Ohio State University Extension

Never miss the first run

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