Kansas · 16 cities · spring 2026

When to apply crabgrass preventer in Kansas

Last spring the soil reached 50°F aroundMar 14Median of 16 cities; crabgrass temperatures (55°F) followed around Mar 21. Earliest: Liberal Feb 9; latest: Leavenworth Mar 22.
Today
Season over
16 of 16 cities
Window last spring
7 days
median gap from 50°F to 55°F
Soil today
57°F
median, 0–4 in
Never below 50°F
0
cities with no spring window

Last spring's pre-emergent window, largest Kansas cities

Each bar runs from the day the soil held 50°F to the day it held 55°F (2026).

FebMarAprMayWichitaWichita: Mar 6 to Mar 21OlatheOlathe: Mar 21 to Mar 22TopekaTopeka: Mar 21 to Mar 22LawrenceLawrence: Mar 21 to Mar 22SalinaSalina: Mar 21 to Mar 21HutchinsonHutchinson: Mar 6 to Mar 21LeavenworthLeavenworth: Mar 22 to Mar 22Dodge CityDodge City: Mar 6 to Mar 20Garden CityGarden City: Mar 6 to Mar 20EmporiaEmporia: Mar 21 to Mar 22Junction CityJunction City: Mar 21 to Mar 21HaysHays: Mar 7 to Mar 21
FebMarAprMayWichitaWichita: Mar 6 to Mar 21OlatheOlathe: Mar 21 to Mar 22TopekaTopeka: Mar 21 to Mar 22LawrenceLawrence: Mar 21 to Mar 22SalinaSalina: Mar 21 to Mar 21HutchinsonHutchinson: Mar 6 to Mar 21LeavenworthLeavenworth: Mar 22 to Mar 22Dodge CityDodge City: Mar 6 to Mar 20Garden CityGarden City: Mar 6 to Mar 20EmporiaEmporia: Mar 21 to Mar 22Junction Ci…Junction City: Mar 21 to Mar 21HaysHays: Mar 7 to Mar 21
Source: NOAA NCEP GFS analyses, 0–10 cm; 5-day mean held 10 days.

Every Kansas city

Spring 2026 dates and today's verdict.

CityHeld 50°F (2026)Held 55°F (2026)Soil todayToday
Wichita, KSMar 6Mar 2159°FSeason over
Olathe, KSMar 21Mar 2257°FSeason over
Topeka, KSMar 21Mar 2257°FSeason over
Lawrence, KSMar 21Mar 2257°FSeason over
Salina, KSMar 21Mar 2157°FSeason over
Hutchinson, KSMar 6Mar 2157°FSeason over
Leavenworth, KSMar 22Mar 2256°FSeason over
Dodge City, KSMar 6Mar 2056°FSeason over
Garden City, KSMar 6Mar 2055°FSeason over
Emporia, KSMar 21Mar 2257°FSeason over
Junction City, KSMar 21Mar 2156°FSeason over
Hays, KSMar 7Mar 2156°FSeason over

Crabgrass seeds start to germinate once the top 2 to 4 inches of soil stay near 55°F for several days. A pre-emergent works as a barrier in the soil, so it has to be down and watered in before that: the usual advice is to apply it while the soil holds 50 to 55°F. The dates here are when the modelled soil began to hold each temperature last spring; this year's window will move with the weather, which is why each city page shows today's reading and the 7-day forecast.

Questions

When should I put down crabgrass preventer in Kansas?
When the soil holds 50 to 55°F. Last spring that was around Mar 14 to Mar 21 across 16 Kansas cities, earlier in the south and in cities.
Is it too late to apply pre-emergent?
Once the soil has held 55°F for a week or more, crabgrass is germinating and a pre-emergent will not stop the seedlings already up. Each city page says which side of that line it is on today.

Soil temperature today in Kansas →

Data: Global Forecast System (GFS) 0.25°, soil temperature 0–10 cm (TSOIL) (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)); GeoNames gazetteer (cities15000) (GeoNames).