The current average 2-inch soil temperature across Texas is 80°F. Readings range from 64°F to 93°F, from 18 USDA and NOAA monitoring stations. Soil across Texas is running 3°F above the seasonal normal of 77°F for early October, based on 18 of 18 stations with historical records. Texas spans USDA hardiness zones 7a to 10a, crossing from cool-season into warm-season grass country. Last updated September 30, 2026.
Soil across Texas is cooling off its summer peak at an average of 80°F at 2 inches. The fall poa annua pre-emergent window is in play as readings fall through the 65–70°F band, and cool-season overseeding follows close behind.
For warm-season lawns (bermuda, zoysia, St. Augustine), the best time to plant grass seed in Texas is late spring into early summer, when soil is warming and a full growing season lies ahead. The window opens when 2-inch soil reaches 65°F and keeps rising, and closes as soil cools back through 65°F, typically around October 30.
| Region | Typical planting window opens | Stations |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Texas | April 4 | 7 |
| Central Texas | March 25 | 7 |
| Southern Texas | March 2 | 6 |
Timing varies within Texas: your city page tracks the local window from its nearest station: see when to plant in Houston, when to plant in El Paso or when to plant in Dallas. Readings current through September 30, 2026: Texas averages 80°F at 2 inches right now; the Current Planting Conditions section above reads that number against the season.
Typical dates are computed from historical 2-inch soil temperature averages at 20 monitoring stations in Texas; your own window depends on your nearest station's readings.
Historical 2-inch soil temperature normals for Texas: the median across 20 in-state stations with multi-year records. Any given year runs ahead of or behind these values; the live average at the top of this page shows where this year stands.
| Month | Average 2-inch soil temperature |
|---|---|
| January | 50°F |
| February | 53°F |
| March | 62°F |
| April | 69°F |
| May | 75°F |
| June | 83°F |
| July | 86°F |
| August | 87°F |
| September | 80°F |
| October | 73°F |
| November | 62°F |
| December | 57°F |
Shaded spring cells fall in the 50°F to 55°F pre-emergent window at 2-inch depth. The highlighted row is the current month.
Grass seed germination
Grass seed germination temperatures across Texas. Soil warmth varies by location, so check a city page for the live reading and what germinates there now.
| Grass species | Seeding soil temp (2 in) | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky bluegrass | 60–70°F | 14-30 |
| Tall fescue | 60–70°F | 7-12 |
| Perennial ryegrass | 60–70°F | 5-10 |
| Fine fescue | 60–70°F | 7-14 |
| Bermudagrass | 75–90°F | 10-30 |
For root-zone timing (fertilizer, aeration, weed control), see the 4-inch soil temperature for Texas. For accumulated-heat timing, see growing degree days for Texas. For how wet the ground is versus normal, see soil moisture for Texas. See the Texas soil temperature map for the full station view.
Interpolated from the latest 4-inch readings and refreshed daily.
| Station | 2" Temp | Last Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Bushland #1 (Randall) | 67°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Prairie View #1 (Waller) | 80°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Reese Center (Lubbock) | 71°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Levelland (Hockley) | 69°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Lehman (Cochran) | 64°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Riesel (Falls) | 86°F | 2026-09-30 |
| San Angelo (Tom Green) | 81°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Knox City (Knox) | 93°F | 2026-09-20 |
| Vernon (Wilbarger) | 81°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Stephenville (Erath) | 81°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Uvalde (Uvalde) | 82°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Weslaco (Hidalgo) | 89°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Kingsville (Kleberg) | 91°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Beaumont (Jefferson) | 82°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Muleshoe 19 S | 71°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Bronte 11 NNE | 86°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Port Aransas 32 NNE | — | 2026-09-30 |
| Austin 33 NW | 83°F | 2026-09-30 |
| Palestine 6 WNW | 84°F | 2026-09-30 |
Current 2-inch readings grouped along Texas's north-to-south axis. Regional spread matters for timing: the warm end of the state can open an application window a week or more before the cool end.
| Region | Avg 2" Temp | Range | Stations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Texas (Cochran, Hockley, Lubbock, Randall, Wilbarger Counties) | 71°F | 64–81°F | 6 |
| Central Texas (Erath, Falls, Knox, Tom Green Counties) | 85°F | 81–93°F | 6 |
| Southern Texas (Hidalgo, Jefferson, Kleberg, Uvalde, Waller Counties) | 85°F | 80–91°F | 6 |
| City | ZIP | Current Temp |
|---|---|---|
| Abilene | 79601 | 86°F |
| Alice | 78332 | 91°F |
| Allen | 75002 | 75°F* |
| Alpine | 79830 | 71°F* |
| Alvin | 77511 | 80°F |
| Amarillo | 79101 | 67°F |
| Angleton | 77515 | 80°F |
| Aransas Pass | 78335 | 85°F |
| Arlington | 76001 | 81°F |
| Athens | 75751 | 84°F |
| Austin | 73301 | 83°F |
| Azle | 76020 | 81°F |
| Bay City | 77404 | 85°F |
| Baytown | 77520 | 82°F |
| Beaumont | 77701 | 82°F |
| Bedford | 76021 | 81°F |
| Beeville | 78102 | 85°F |
| Bellaire | 77401 | 80°F |
| Big Sandy | 75755 | 84°F |
| Big Spring | 79720 | 86°F |
| Boerne | 78006 | 83°F |
| Borger | 79007 | 67°F |
| Brenham | 77833 | 80°F |
| Brownsville | 78520 | 89°F |
| Brownwood | 76801 | 81°F |
| Bryan | 77801 | 80°F |
| Burleson | 76028 | 81°F |
| Canyon | 79015 | 67°F |
| Carrollton | 75006 | 81°F |
| Cedar Hill | 75104 | 81°F |
| Cedar Park | 78613 | 83°F |
| Cleburne | 76031 | 81°F |
| Cleveland | 77327 | 82°F |
| College Station | 77840 | 80°F |
| Commerce | 75428 | 76°F* |
| Conroe | 77301 | 80°F |
| Coppell | 75019 | 81°F |
| Corpus Christi | 78401 | 91°F |
| Corsicana | 75109 | 84°F |
| Crp Christi | 78461 | 91°F |
| Cypress | 77410 | 80°F |
| Dallas | 75201 | 81°F |
| Del Rio | 78840 | 82°F |
| Denison | 75020 | 76°F* |
| Denton | 76201 | 81°F |
| Desoto | 75115 | 86°F |
| Duncanville | 75116 | 81°F |
| Eagle Pass | 78852 | 82°F |
| Edinburg | 78539 | 89°F |
| El Paso | 79901 | 59°F |
| Ennis | 75119 | 86°F |
| Euless | 76039 | 81°F |
| Flower Mound | 75022 | 81°F |
| Fort Bliss | 79916 | 59°F |
| Fort Worth | 76101 | 81°F |
| Freeport | 77541 | 80°F |
| Friendswood | 77546 | 80°F |
| Frisco | 75033 | 76°F* |
| Gainesville | 76240 | 78°F* |
| Galveston | 77550 | 82°F |
| Garland | 75040 | 84°F |
| Gatesville | 76528 | 86°F |
| Georgetown | 78626 | 83°F |
| Gilmer | 75644 | 84°F |
| Granbury | 76048 | 81°F |
| Grand Prairie | 75050 | 81°F |
| Grapevine | 76051 | 81°F |
| Greenville | 75401 | 76°F* |
| Harlingen | 78550 | 89°F |
| Henderson | 75652 | 84°F |
| Houston | 77001 | 80°F |
| Humble | 77338 | 80°F |
| Huntsville | 77320 | 80°F |
| Hurst | 76053 | 81°F |
| Irving | 75014 | 86°F |
| Katy | 77449 | 80°F |
| Keller | 76244 | 81°F |
| Kerrville | 78028 | 82°F |
| Kilgore | 75662 | 84°F |
| Killeen | 76540 | 83°F |
| Kingsville | 78363 | 91°F |
| Kingwood | 77325 | 80°F |
| La Porte | 77571 | 82°F |
| Lancaster | 75134 | 86°F |
| Laredo | 78040 | 91°F |
| League City | 77573 | 82°F |
| Leander | 78641 | 83°F |
| Levelland | 79336 | 69°F |
| Lewisville | 75029 | 81°F |
| Livingston | 77351 | 82°F |
| Longview | 75601 | 84°F |
| Lubbock | 79401 | 71°F |
| Lufkin | 75901 | 84°F |
| Mabank | 75147 | 84°F |
| Magnolia | 77353 | 80°F |
| Marshall | 75670 | 84°F |
| Mcallen | 78501 | 89°F |
| Mckinney | 75069 | 75°F* |
| Mesquite | 75149 | 84°F |
| Midland | 79701 | 81°F |
| Mineral Wells | 76067 | 81°F |
| Mission | 78572 | 89°F |
| Missouri City | 77459 | 80°F |
| Montgomery | 77316 | 80°F |
| Mount Pleasant | 75455 | 78°F* |
| Nacogdoches | 75961 | 84°F |
| New Braunfels | 78130 | 83°F |
| North Richland Hills | 76180 | 81°F |
| Odessa | 79760 | 79°F* |
| Orange | 77630 | 82°F |
| Palestine | 75801 | 84°F |
| Pampa | 79065 | 67°F |
| Paris | 75460 | 75°F* |
| Pasadena | 77501 | 80°F |
| Pearland | 77581 | 80°F |
| Pflugerville | 78660 | 83°F |
| Plainview | 79072 | 71°F |
| Plano | 75023 | 75°F* |
| Port Arthur | 77640 | 82°F |
| Richardson | 75080 | 81°F |
| Richmond | 77406 | 80°F |
| Roanoke | 76262 | 81°F |
| Rockport | 78381 | 85°F |
| Rockwall | 75032 | 84°F |
| Round Rock | 78664 | 83°F |
| Rowlett | 75030 | 84°F |
| Rule | 79547 | 93°F |
| San Angelo | 76901 | 81°F |
| San Antonio | 78201 | 82°F |
| San Marcos | 78666 | 83°F |
| Santa Fe | 77510 | 82°F |
| Seguin | 78155 | 83°F |
| Sherman | 75090 | 76°F* |
| Snyder | 79549 | 86°F |
| Spring | 77373 | 80°F |
| Stafford | 77477 | 80°F |
| Stephenville | 76401 | 81°F |
| Sugar Land | 77478 | 80°F |
| Sulphur Springs | 75482 | 84°F |
| Temple | 76501 | 86°F |
| Tennessee Colony | 75861 | 84°F |
| Terrell | 75160 | 84°F |
| Texarkana | 75501 | 79°F* |
| Texas City | 77590 | 82°F |
| Tomball | 77375 | 80°F |
| Tyler | 75701 | 84°F |
| Uvalde | 78801 | 82°F |
| Vernon | 76384 | 81°F |
| Victoria | 77901 | 85°F |
| Vidor | 77662 | 82°F |
| Waco | 76701 | 86°F |
| Waxahachie | 75165 | 86°F |
| Weatherford | 76085 | 81°F |
| Weslaco | 78596 | 89°F |
| Wichita Falls | 76301 | 81°F |
| Willis | 77318 | 80°F |
| Woodville | 75979 | 82°F |
Modeled estimate where no monitoring station is within 99 miles; all other readings are measured at USDA and NOAA stations.
Time fall pre-emergent ahead of poa annua germination.
Fall is when broadleaf herbicide works hardest.
Bermuda and zoysia go tan in winter.
Check whether your soil is warm enough for the seed you bought: cool-season grass seeds into 50-65°F soil (tall fescue prefers 60°F and up), warm-season into 75-85°F.
The current average 2-inch soil temperature across Texas is 80°F. Readings range from 64°F to 93°F depending on location and elevation, from 18 USDA and NOAA monitoring stations. Soil across Texas is running 3°F above the seasonal normal of 77°F for early October, based on 18 of 18 stations with historical records.
Apply pre-emergent herbicide when soil at 2 inches reaches 55°F for several consecutive days. Timing varies across Texas, so check your city's page for station-specific readings and the pre-emergent timing recommendation.
Texas spans USDA hardiness zones 7a to 10a, crossing from cool-season into warm-season grass country. For warm-season grasses (bermuda, zoysia), the window typically opens around March 26, based on historical 2-inch soil temperature averages at 20 in-state stations. Timing varies by location, so check your city's planting window for the dates specific to your area.