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If you’re still in denial about summer’s imminent end, you may want to stop reading.
Did you stop?
OK, if you’re still with us and you’ve got your pumpkin spice beverages and scarves on standby for after Labor Day Weekend, then get excited. One of autumn’s best planning tools has officially gone live.
The annual Fall Foliage Prediction Map from SmokyMountains.com is now up for the 2021 season, providing a useful tool for leaf peepers across the country to plan for their autumnal getaways.
The interactive map provides a rough estimate for when leaves across the country will start showing minimal change, patchy change, partial change, near peak colors, peak colors and past peak colors. It makes its predictions by sourcing millions of data points from sources like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and historical temperatures and precipitation levels. For the first time this year, the map will also release a mid-September update to finetune its predictions.
What does that mean for you? When it comes to the Northeastern U.S., the Adirondacks region is set to start experiencing minimal change already next week. (Sorry if that bums you out but, to be fair, we did say you should stop reading up top.)
New York is predicted to start entering peak color change season around late September with most of the region showing peak colors in early October. Per usual, the city is expected to reach peak colors a bit later, closer to end of October.
While the Smoky Mountains map is a useful resource for long-term planning, the more accurate, regionally focused New York Fall Foliage Report is the best go-to resource for planning a bit closer to fall. The 2021 map for that page will be going live here.