Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
The AuSable is at 1020 cfs, near the 906 cfs median for the date, dropping over the past two days, and 59 degrees F. The water sits in the prime window, so hatches and rises should come on the evening. Degree days stand at 273 against a normal of 283, so the season is essentially on schedule. Against the long-term normal, accumulated heat is running ahead by 79 growing degree days. The national spring index put first leaf-out near April 14 this year, right on the long-term normal. Daylight is 15 hours 14 minutes, still lengthening about 1.3 minutes a day, and the soil at six inches is 64 degrees, warm enough for morels and the warm-season garden. The region's average last frost, around mid-May, has passed. The March Brown and Sulphur is on now; the Hexagenia (Hex) projects to June 24, about 22 days out. Black locust bloom is the Isonychia and late Sulphur cue, and the all-clear for heat-loving crops. On the bay, 2 notable birds are being reported, including Stilt Sandpiper and Red Knot.
Correlation: Breeding bird peak song and White-tail fawning overlap on the calendar right now. Watch whether they track together as the years bank up.
The signals nature is giving right now, and what each one points to on the rivers, in the woods, and in the garden.
This season's accumulated heat against known degree-day thresholds, with the aquatic hatches cross-checked against the live AuSable water temperature. Estimates, not promises; emergence shifts with the weather.