Oh boy, do we have great news for you, North Carolina! The new Fall Foliage Prediction Map has been released by the kindhearted folks over at SmokyMountains.com and, from the looks of it, we’ll be seeing the vivid colors of autumn earlier this year than usual. At the end of every summer, SmokyMountains.com publishes the fruits of all of their research about when to expect fall foliage to peak all over the continental United States.
The map comes complete with a date slider at the bottom that allows users to watch the fall foliage progression anywhere in the continental U.S.
In this map, you can see that the week of September 20th predicts some patchy and partial changes (likely in higher elevations) in North Carolina and some minimal changes already taking place across the Piedmont.
If you're accustomed to making leaf peeping plans for the second or third week in October, then you might want to think again - at least this year.
You don't want to arrive too late to observe the action!
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Of course, you can check out the map slider for yourself (the link is below) to pick the week that'll bring the best foliage to the part of the state where you live or are planning to visit to see the colors.
How do the folks at SmokyMountain.com do it? In an email to OnlyInYourState, co-founder David Angotti explained the process. The experts take a look at historical precipitation, NOAA precipitation forecasts, elevation, actual temperatures, temperature forecasts, and average daylight exposure, among other things. And then they push the data for just under 50,000 specific places in the continental U.S. through their proprietary algorithms to determine when the leaves will change colors.
The team has been releasing the Fall Foliage Prediction Map now for nearly ten years. While no forecasts are 100% accurate, they really know their stuff!
So if you're planning to do some leaf peeping this fall, whether in your own home town or anywhere in North Carolina, plan on doing so at least a week or two sooner than usual.
How about it? Do you usually make a day trip or a weekend trip in the fall to admire the splendors of the season? What’s your favorite place to see the colors? Let us know right over here!
