What to do in Reno now
Reno is in the transition zone, where both cool- and warm-season lawns grow. Dates are typical for this spot, worked out from 23 years of weather at Reno Airport; each status uses this year's soil estimates.
Cool-season: tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue
- Crabgrass pre-emergent Closed Mar 19 Typical: Apr 2 – Apr 232-inch soil held 55°F for a week from Mar 19, so crabgrass was sprouting. Next window: about Apr 2 – Apr 23, 2027.
- Seed or overseed Late · risky Typical: Sep 21 – Oct 26Soil fell below 55°F on Oct 28. Seed sown now germinates slowly and may not survive winter. The hard stop, 4-inch soil under 50°F, typically comes around Nov 10.
- Late-fall feeding Final feeding from about Nov 10 Typical: Nov 10 – Dec 2Not too late. Feed on your normal fall schedule; the last feeding of the year goes down when 4-inch soil falls to about 50°F (typically Nov 10) and before it reaches 40°F (typically Dec 2).
Warm-season: bermudagrass, zoysia, St. Augustine, centipede, bahia
- Crabgrass pre-emergent Closed Mar 19 Typical: Apr 2 – Apr 232-inch soil held 55°F for a week from Mar 19, so crabgrass was sprouting. Next window: about Apr 2 – Apr 23, 2027.
- Seed or sod Wait for late spring Typical: May 20 – Sep 21Warm-season seed needs 4-inch soil at 65°F or more, and seedlings need the rest of summer to establish. Next window opens about May 20.
- Fall pre-emergent (Poa annua) Germinating since Sep 7 Typical: By Sep 184-inch soil fell below 70°F on Sep 7, when annual bluegrass begins to sprout. A pre-emergent now only stops later flushes; plan to apply by about Sep 18 next year.
- Dormancy and last feeding Dormant since about Oct 28 Typical: Around Oct 264-inch soil has stayed under 55°F since Oct 28, so warm-season grass is going brown. It is too late to fertilize; feed again after spring green-up, once soil holds 65°F (typically May 20).
The last 60 days and the week ahead
Reno soil is 2° cooler than normal for Nov 3, cooler than on 73% of those dates since 2005, and 8° cooler than a year ago.
The green line is our estimate of the daily average soil temperature 2 inches down, driven by temperatures at Reno Airport, 8.4 km from the city center. The dashed part runs the National Weather Service forecast through the same model. Hover or tap for any day.
2-inch soil, estimated From the NWS forecast Normal Normal range (8 years in 10)
Show the numbers
| Date | 2-inch soil | 4-inch soil | Air high / low | Normal (2 in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 20 | 58° | 60° | 73° / 49° | 56° |
| Oct 21 | 58° | 59° | 65° / 49° | 55° |
| Oct 22 | 56° | 58° | 58° / 43° | 55° |
| Oct 23 | 53° | 56° | 57° / 39° | 55° |
| Oct 24 | 52° | 54° | 59° / 37° | 54° |
| Oct 25 | 51° | 53° | 66° / 32° | 54° |
| Oct 26 | 51° | 54° | 66° / 39° | 53° |
| Oct 27 | 51° | 53° | 66° / 31° | 52° |
| Oct 28 | 49° | 51° | 62° / 30° | 52° |
| Oct 29 | 48° | 51° | 61° / 33° | 51° |
| Oct 30 | 50° | 52° | 61° / 46° | 51° |
| Oct 31 | 49° | 51° | 53° / 42° | 50° |
| Nov 1 | 48° | 50° | 55° / 38° | 50° |
| Nov 2 | 47° | 49° | 57° / 34° | 50° |
| Nov 3 | 47° | 49° | 58° / 37° | 50° |
| Nov 4 (forecast) | 47° | 49° | 55° / 36° | 50° |
| Nov 5 (forecast) | 46° | 48° | 57° / 34° | 49° |
| Nov 6 (forecast) | 47° | 49° | 60° / 38° | 49° |
| Nov 7 (forecast) | 48° | 50° | 64° / 40° | 48° |
| Nov 8 (forecast) | 50° | 51° | 67° / 41° | 48° |
| Nov 9 (forecast) | 51° | 51° | 65° / 41° | 47° |
Which grass grows in Reno
With January averaging 37°F, Reno sits in the transition zone. Tall fescue is the common cool-season choice; bermudagrass and zoysia are the common warm-season ones. Use the switch above to see the calendar for yours.
Reno soil through the year
Weekly 2-inch estimates for 2026 so far against 2025 and the normal for each week. The red lines mark 50°F, when crabgrass pre-emergent should be down, and 65°F, when warm-season seed sprouts well.
2026 2025 Normal (2005–2025) 8 years in 10
Normal by month
| Month | 2 in | 4 in | Air |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36° | 38° | 37° |
| Feb | 40° | 41° | 41° |
| Mar | 45° | 46° | 47° |
| Apr | 52° | 53° | 52° |
| May | 61° | 62° | 60° |
| Jun | 71° | 72° | 69° |
| Jul | 80° | 82° | 77° |
| Aug | 78° | 80° | 75° |
| Sep | 69° | 71° | 67° |
| Oct | 57° | 58° | 55° |
| Nov | 45° | 47° | 44° |
| Dec | 37° | 38° | 36° |
Soil: average of our daily estimates, 2005–2025. Air: NOAA 1991–2020 normals for the station.
Typical lawn dates in Reno
Each date is when the soil estimate (or the air, for freezes) crossed the threshold, year by year since 2005. “Early” and “late” are the 10th and 90th percentile years, so 8 years in 10 fall between them.
| Event | Typical | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Last spring freeze (32°F) | Apr 18 | Apr 18 |
| Crabgrass model: 250 growing degree days | Feb 8 | Feb 3 |
| Pre-emergent window opens (2-inch soil 50°F) | Apr 2 | Mar 2 |
| Crabgrass begins to sprout (2-inch soil 55°F) | Apr 23 | Mar 19 |
| Cool-season lawns start growing (4-inch soil 55°F) | Apr 23 | Mar 18 |
| Warm-season seeding opens (4-inch soil 65°F) | May 20 | May 12 |
| Cool-season seeding opens (4-inch soil under 70°F) | Sep 21 | Sep 9 |
| Cool-season seeding ends (4-inch soil under 55°F) | Oct 26 | Oct 28 |
| Warm-season grass goes dormant (4-inch under 55°F) | Oct 26 | Oct 28 |
| First fall freeze (32°F) | Oct 23 | Oct 13 |
| Roots stop feeding (4-inch soil under 40°F) | Dec 2 | not yet |
Where these numbers come from
There is no soil sensor in most cities, so we estimate it. Shallow soil follows air temperature with a lag of a few days, and runs a little warmer than the air in fall. We fitted that relationship to 190 USDA soil-sensor stations; on years held out of the fit, the estimate was off by 3.3°F on an average day, and it put the spring 55°F date within a median of 3 days. Read the methodology.
Weather: RCC ACIS station KRNO (RENO AIRPORT), daily data since 1937. Forecast: National Weather Service, REV office, issued Nov 4, 2026, 6:30 AM EST. Last observed day: Nov 3, 2026.
Reno questions
What is the soil temperature in Reno today? Our estimate for Nov 3 is 47°F at 2 inches and 49°F at 4 inches, as a daily average. Early-morning soil runs a few degrees cooler than that, and afternoon soil warmer.
When should I put down crabgrass pre-emergent in Reno? Apply when 2-inch soil holds about 50°F and before it holds 55°F. That has typically been Apr 2 to Apr 23 in Reno. For 2026 the window closed on Mar 19.
When can I seed bermudagrass in Reno? Wait for late spring. Warm-season seed needs 4-inch soil at 65°F or more, and seedlings need the rest of summer to establish. Next window opens about May 20.
Is it too late to fertilize in Reno? Dormant since about Oct 28. 4-inch soil has stayed under 55°F since Oct 28, so warm-season grass is going brown. It is too late to fertilize; feed again after spring green-up, once soil holds 65°F (typically May 20).
When is the last frost in Reno? The last 32°F night of spring has typically come around Apr 18, and as late as May 11 in 1 year in 10. The first fall freeze typically arrives around Oct 23.
Why 2 inches and 4 inches? Crabgrass and most weed seeds sprout in the top inch or two, so pre-emergent timing follows 2-inch soil. Grass seed and roots respond to the slightly steadier soil at about 4 inches.
How accurate is this? It is a model, not a probe in your yard. Expect about 3–4°F of difference on a given day; shade, slope, mulch and irrigation all move real soil. The dates and trends are more reliable than any single day.