Weather
Fall Foliage Map 2023: See When Autumn Leaves Peak In PA
Weather conditions throughout the year play a role in how vibrant the fall foliage appear, as trees in PA prepare to shed their leaves.
PENNSYLVANIA — Weather conditions this spring and summer have a big effect on the fall colors we’ll see in Pennsylvania in a few weeks as the seasons change.
Brilliant tree canopies start with wet weather in the late spring through mid-summer, according to Paul Pastelok, the senior meteorologist and long-range forecast expert at AccuWeather, which recently released its 2023 fall foliage forecast. Dry, sunny days and cooler nights in September also help make colors more brilliant, Pastelok said.
The forecast suggests leaf peepers in Pennsylvania should see a vibrant display of Mother Nature's annual autumn showcase this year, compared to typical years.
Find out what's happening in Across Pennsylvaniafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The peak to see fall foliage this year will be mid-October across almost the entire Keystone State. A portion of north-central Pennsylvania will have the peak of color in early October, AccuWeather's fall forecast shows.
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Find out what's happening in Across Pennsylvaniafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Late September and early October are the best times to see fall foliage in New England, the Upper Midwest, and Colorado and Utah, when aspen groves are expected to be their most brilliant.
Fall colors are expected to reach their peak by mid-October in the Northeast, Appalachians, Ohio Valley and across the Midwest, according to the forecast.
Foliage in Washington, Oregon and California should peak during the last half of October.
Areas from the central U.S. to the Gulf Coast and part of the coastal mid-Atlantic won’t see leaves peak until late October and the first few weeks of November. Colors are expected to be muted in about a dozen states, though, because of this summer’s long hot spells across the southern U.S. from Texas to Alabama and northward into Illinois and Indiana, Pastelok said.
Trees are already stressed, he explained, and severe weather during the first half of fall could blow leaves off trees around the expected peak time.
“On top of that, we could see a big change in October where some cold air can come down causing an early frost,” Pastelok added.
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