Utah · 11 cities · spring 2026

When to apply crabgrass preventer in Utah

Last spring the soil reached 50°F aroundMar 20Median of 11 cities; crabgrass temperatures (55°F) followed around Mar 21. Earliest: Saint George Feb 4; latest: Logan Mar 21.
Today
Season over
11 of 11 cities
Window last spring
1 days
median gap from 50°F to 55°F
Soil today
47°F
median, 0–4 in
Never below 50°F
0
cities with no spring window

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

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

FebMarAprMaySalt Lake CitySalt Lake City: Mar 17 to Mar 20ProvoProvo: Mar 20 to Mar 22OgdenOgden: Mar 20 to Mar 21Saint GeorgeSaint George: Feb 4 to Feb 27LoganLogan: Mar 21 to Jun 5DraperDraper: Mar 21 to Jun 3TooeleTooele: Mar 20 to Mar 21Cedar CityCedar City: Mar 18 to Mar 21Eagle MountainEagle Mountain: Mar 19 to Mar 21Brigham CityBrigham City: Mar 20 to Mar 21HurricaneHurricane: Feb 4 to Mar 11
FebMarAprMaySalt Lake C…Salt Lake City: Mar 17 to Mar 20ProvoProvo: Mar 20 to Mar 22OgdenOgden: Mar 20 to Mar 21Saint GeorgeSaint George: Feb 4 to Feb 27LoganLogan: Mar 21 to Jun 5DraperDraper: Mar 21 to Jun 3TooeleTooele: Mar 20 to Mar 21Cedar CityCedar City: Mar 18 to Mar 21Eagle Mount…Eagle Mountain: Mar 19 to Mar 21Brigham CityBrigham City: Mar 20 to Mar 21HurricaneHurricane: Feb 4 to Mar 11
Source: NOAA NCEP GFS analyses, 0–10 cm; 5-day mean held 10 days.

Every Utah city

Spring 2026 dates and today's verdict.

CityHeld 50°F (2026)Held 55°F (2026)Soil todayToday
Salt Lake City, UTMar 17Mar 2050°FSeason over
Provo, UTMar 20Mar 2245°FSeason over
Ogden, UTMar 20Mar 2147°FSeason over
Saint George, UTFeb 4Feb 2759°FSeason over
Logan, UTMar 21Jun 544°FSeason over
Draper, UTMar 21Jun 345°FSeason over
Tooele, UTMar 20Mar 2146°FSeason over
Cedar City, UTMar 18Mar 2144°FSeason over
Eagle Mountain, UTMar 19Mar 2147°FSeason over
Brigham City, UTMar 20Mar 2147°FSeason over
Hurricane, UTFeb 4Mar 1157°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 Utah?
When the soil holds 50 to 55°F. Last spring that was around Mar 20 to Mar 21 across 11 Utah 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 Utah →

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