When will the leaves change in the North Carolina mountains? This map gives us a hint
Summer is nearing an end and fall is lurking in the wings — at least, that’s what North Carolinians would like to think as the heat index neared 107 on Tuesday.
What’s that mean for the state’s famed fall foliage?
According to the Smoky Mountains’ 2020 prediction, leaves in the mountains of North Carolina are still on track to start turning at the end of September with peak fall colors the first few weeks of October.
Leaves maintain their green hue as long as they are producing Chlorophyll, otherwise known as the process of converting sunlight into glucose, according to the Smoky Mountains. As the days get shorter, Chlorophyll production slows to a grinding halt, “eventually giving way to the ‘true’ color of the leaf.”
Most of the state is currently green — meaning no change in leaf color — and will stay that way over Labor Day weekend, the map shows.
But that starts to change Sept. 14 when parts of Western North Carolina turn yellow and light orange, which the Smoky Mountains considers “minimal” and “patchy,” respectively, for fall foliage. By the following week, most of the region is fully orange — meaning the leaves have partially changed color.
A few areas hit “near peak” the week of Sept. 28 while the Piedmont region of North Carolina transitions to “patchy.”
Between Oct. 5 and Oct. 12, the Smoky Mountains predicts the vast majority of Western North Carolina will be at or near peak fall foliage. Those leaves will then pass peak color change over the two weeks that follow, just as the Piedmont’s leaves hit their prime.
That timeline is on par with most years, according to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
“The majority of trees typically change color during the month of October, starting early in the month on the highest peaks and progressing down the mountainsides into the lower elevations as the month passes,” the parkway’s website says.
The Smoky Mountains fall foliage map isn’t 100% accurate, the park cautions.
But thousands of people visit during the fall, and the map can “help travelers better time their trips to have the best opportunity of catching peak color each year,” the Smoky Mountains website states.
Biologists at Western Carolina University predicted a “vibrant” display of fall colors in the mountains last year, McClatchy News previously reported, although there was some concern that unseasonably hot days and a lack of rainfall last October could put off peak foliage.
But according to the Blue Ridge Parkway, fall foliage in the North Carolina mountains is worth a visit no matter the prediction.
“Whether leaf color for any given year is classified as ‘spectacular’ or simply as ‘average,’ the display will nonetheless be pleasing to the eye somewhere along the parkway,” the parkway’s website states, pointing to the diversity of trees along the way. “Various species change color at different times over a long fall season.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 12:46 PM with the headline "When will the leaves change in the North Carolina mountains? This map gives us a hint."
