What to do in Salt Lake City now
Salt Lake City is in cool-season grass country. Dates are typical for this spot, worked out from 23 years of weather at Salt Lake City Intl Arpt; each status uses this year's soil estimates.
Cool-season: tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue
- Crabgrass pre-emergent Closed Mar 22 Typical: Apr 1 – Apr 252-inch soil held 55°F for a week from Mar 22, so crabgrass was sprouting. Next window: about Apr 1 – Apr 25, 2027.
- Seed or overseed Late · risky Typical: Sep 25 – Oct 24Soil fell below 55°F on Nov 2. Seed sown now germinates slowly and may not survive winter. The hard stop, 4-inch soil under 50°F, typically comes around Nov 2.
- Late-fall feeding Final feeding due now Typical: Nov 2 – Nov 28Not 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 2) and before it reaches 40°F (typically Nov 28).
Warm-season: bermudagrass, zoysia, St. Augustine, centipede, bahia
- Crabgrass pre-emergent Closed Mar 22 Typical: Apr 1 – Apr 252-inch soil held 55°F for a week from Mar 22, so crabgrass was sprouting. Next window: about Apr 1 – Apr 25, 2027.
- Seed or sod Wait for late spring Typical: May 21 – Sep 25Warm-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 21.
- Fall pre-emergent (Poa annua) Germinating since Sep 25 Typical: By Sep 234-inch soil fell below 70°F on Sep 25, when annual bluegrass begins to sprout. A pre-emergent now only stops later flushes; plan to apply by about Sep 23 next year.
- Dormancy and last feeding Dormant since about Nov 2 Typical: Around Oct 244-inch soil has stayed under 55°F since Nov 2, 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 21).
The last 60 days and the week ahead
Salt Lake City soil is 0° warmer than normal for Nov 3, cooler than on 51% of those dates since 2005, and 2° cooler than a year ago.
The green line is our estimate of the daily average soil temperature 2 inches down, driven by temperatures at Salt Lake City Intl Arpt, 2.9 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 | 60° | 61° | 74° / 56° | 55° |
| Oct 21 | 61° | 62° | 72° / 54° | 55° |
| Oct 22 | 61° | 62° | 67° / 54° | 54° |
| Oct 23 | 59° | 60° | 60° / 48° | 54° |
| Oct 24 | 56° | 58° | 58° / 41° | 53° |
| Oct 25 | 55° | 57° | 59° / 45° | 52° |
| Oct 26 | 55° | 57° | 66° / 45° | 52° |
| Oct 27 | 54° | 56° | 60° / 42° | 51° |
| Oct 28 | 53° | 55° | 60° / 43° | 50° |
| Oct 29 | 53° | 55° | 62° / 42° | 50° |
| Oct 30 | 53° | 55° | 63° / 48° | 50° |
| Oct 31 | 53° | 55° | 61° / 46° | 49° |
| Nov 1 | 52° | 54° | 55° / 45° | 49° |
| Nov 2 | 50° | 53° | 52° / 40° | 49° |
| Nov 3 | 49° | 52° | 58° / 37° | 49° |
| Nov 4 (forecast) | 48° | 50° | 51° / 37° | 49° |
| Nov 5 (forecast) | 47° | 49° | 53° / 38° | 49° |
| Nov 6 (forecast) | 46° | 49° | 54° / 36° | 48° |
| Nov 7 (forecast) | 47° | 49° | 56° / 40° | 48° |
| Nov 8 (forecast) | 48° | 50° | 62° / 43° | 47° |
| Nov 9 (forecast) | 50° | 51° | 62° / 44° | 46° |
Which grass grows in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City winters are cold enough (January averages 31°F) that cool-season grasses, mostly Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue and perennial ryegrass, make up most lawns. They grow in spring and fall and slow down in summer heat.
Salt Lake City 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 | 33° | 35° | 31° |
| Feb | 37° | 38° | 37° |
| Mar | 44° | 45° | 46° |
| Apr | 51° | 52° | 52° |
| May | 61° | 62° | 62° |
| Jun | 73° | 74° | 72° |
| Jul | 84° | 85° | 81° |
| Aug | 81° | 83° | 79° |
| Sep | 71° | 73° | 69° |
| Oct | 56° | 58° | 55° |
| Nov | 43° | 45° | 42° |
| Dec | 35° | 36° | 32° |
Soil: average of our daily estimates, 2005–2025. Air: NOAA 1991–2020 normals for the station.
Typical lawn dates in Salt Lake City
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 13 | Apr 18 |
| Crabgrass model: 250 growing degree days | Mar 4 | Feb 12 |
| Pre-emergent window opens (2-inch soil 50°F) | Apr 1 | Mar 19 |
| Crabgrass begins to sprout (2-inch soil 55°F) | Apr 25 | Mar 22 |
| Cool-season lawns start growing (4-inch soil 55°F) | Apr 21 | Mar 22 |
| Warm-season seeding opens (4-inch soil 65°F) | May 21 | May 13 |
| Cool-season seeding opens (4-inch soil under 70°F) | Sep 25 | Sep 30 |
| Cool-season seeding ends (4-inch soil under 55°F) | Oct 24 | Nov 2 |
| Warm-season grass goes dormant (4-inch under 55°F) | Oct 24 | Nov 2 |
| First fall freeze (32°F) | Oct 27 | not yet |
| Roots stop feeding (4-inch soil under 40°F) | Nov 28 | not yet |
Checked against a real sensor
Measured nearby: 45°F at 2 inches on Nov 3, at the USDA SCAN site “Morgan”, 20 miles away.
Our estimate for Salt Lake City on Nov 3 is 49°F; the sensor read 47°F at 4 inches against our 52°F. Sensor sites sit in open, unwatered ground outside town, so they often run a few degrees apart from city lawns; use them as a check on the trend.
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 KSLC (SALT LAKE CITY INTL ARPT), daily data since 1928. Forecast: National Weather Service, SLC office, issued Nov 4, 2026, 1:31 AM EST. Last observed day: Nov 3, 2026.
Salt Lake City questions
What is the soil temperature in Salt Lake City today? Our estimate for Nov 3 is 49°F at 2 inches and 52°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 Salt Lake City? Apply when 2-inch soil holds about 50°F and before it holds 55°F. That has typically been Apr 1 to Apr 25 in Salt Lake City. For 2026 the window closed on Mar 22.
Is it too late to overseed in Salt Lake City? Late · risky. Soil fell below 55°F on Nov 2. Seed sown now germinates slowly and may not survive winter. The hard stop, 4-inch soil under 50°F, typically comes around Nov 2.
Is it too late to fertilize in Salt Lake City? Final feeding due now. Not 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 2) and before it reaches 40°F (typically Nov 28).
When is the last frost in Salt Lake City? The last 32°F night of spring has typically come around Apr 13, and as late as May 1 in 1 year in 10. The first fall freeze typically arrives around Oct 27.
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.