Overview

• AccuWeather projects more states will enjoy vibrant color than in 2024, with New England, the Midwest and the Rocky Mountains expected to shine.
• Heavy spring and summer rainfall, flooding, and subsequent insect or fungal damage may dull parts of the Appalachians and areas from southwest Pennsylvania into Alabama.
• The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center expects above-normal temperatures from September through November, a pattern that can shift or compress peak timing.
• AccuWeather cautions that peak color may be short-lived in many places, and tropical systems could strip leaves early in eastern North Carolina and South Carolina.
• Regional trackers indicate mid-October peak color for northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, with SmokyMountains.com providing county-level timing maps used since 2013.