New England Heads Toward Peak Colors

UPDATED October 4,2013

By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Andrew Rosenthal

 

 

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The first weekend of October is bringing some bright fall colors to northern New England and upstate New York, with much of the interior Northeast poised to revel in bright colors this weekend. Meanwhile, a major fall storm will wreak havoc on what`s been, thus far, a slow foliage season in the Upper Midwest.

Astronomically, the first day of fall was September 22, when the sun`s perpendicular rays cross the equator. The time of daylight is getting shorter daily, and this causes a chemical reaction in the leaves that leads to the color changing. As days become cooler and shorter, the trees ability to make chlorophyll, a pigment that keeps the leaves green, decreases and causes the leaves to become red, orange and purple. Click here for more information on the science of fall foliage.

All of New England is seeing some color at this point, with the higher elevations of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine seeing peak colors this weekend. The famed maple trees of Vermont are showing their red hues, with the Adirondacks and White Mountains also awash in color. Moderate colors extend deep into the suburbs of New York and Boston. The low colors of the East extend deep into the Appalachians, spreading across the higher elevations of West Virginia and Virginia.

The best advice to get to the peak colors is to use a north-south highway like Interstates 81, 87, 89, 91 or 93. This will get you to the edge of the mountains, after which point, there`s numerous state roads that allow for a loop into the better fall colors. The best fall colors can be reached along U.S. Routes 2 or 4 through northern and central Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, or New York Route 28 and 30 in the Adirondacks. For those coming from Boston or New York, consider taking Massachusetts Route 2 into the Berkshires, or the New York State Thruway to New York Route 17. This will take you through the Catskills and into the better colors of the Southern Tier. Further to the south, your best bet is a highway such as Interstate 81 through the Shenandoah Valley or U.S. Routes 220 or 219 through West Virginia.

Colors may be a bit more difficult to find across the Midwest, as the warm weather of the last week or two have dulled this fall`s foliage. The best colors are high color in the Minnesota Arrowhead, while much of the northern part of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan are awash in moderate colors. Further to the south, some colors have made their way deep into Iowa and Illinois.

If you`re visiting the Land of 10,000 Lakes and want to find an interesting road trip to the best fall colors this weekend, consider driving northward on U.S. Route 53 from Duluth, or U.S. Route 71 through Bemidji, or even just east-to-west along U.S. Route 2. In Wisconsin, U.S. Routes 2, 8 and 53 remain the best bet to visit the best fall colors from the Mississippi Valley, while U.S. Route 41 and Interstate 39 provide great byways to get into the colors from Milwaukee and Madison. If you wish to stay closer to the cities, consider using Interstate 80 across Iowa, and you can see a bit of the Hawkeye gold.

A major storm moving through the Plains this weekend will be the big headline, and it could put a serious damper on the foliage season. Severe thunderstorms are expected today as far north as Minneapolis. Heavy rain from this storm will continue into Saturday from Minnesota to Wisconsin and Iowa, with gusty winds expected for the rest of the day as well. A bit of the showers behind the storm will last through the day on Sunday. Highs will only reach the 50s for much of the weekend thanks to all these clouds.

Meanwhile, the East will be quite warm and sunny for much of the weekend. Highs will reach the 70s and 80s in the lower elevations of New England, while the higher elevations will reach the upper 60s and 70s. The weekend could wind down on a soggy note as the front edge of the storm starts to arrive into the Northeast and Ohio Valley by Sunday evening.

Over the course of the next several weeks, WeatherBug Meteorologists will provide an outlook on the foliage conditions across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. This will include an updated map of conditions and details of these great colors. WeatherBug will also give some suggestions of roads to take for a leaf-peeping road trip, and a forecast for the weekend so you can know what to expect as you visit the colors.

Be sure to check your WeatherBug every week throughout the season to find out which region is seeing the best colors. Plus, don`t forget to share your foliage photos by clicking on the "Your Photo" link on this page. In addition, you can get the latest foliage and weather updates anytime on Twitter.