Overview

• AccuWeather expects more vibrant foliage than in 2024 across much of New England, the Midwest and the Rockies and cautions that peak color may be short-lived.
• Muted displays are forecast in parts of the Appalachians, the Smoky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest and the interior West due to heavy rain and flooding, insect and fungal damage, heat, drought and wildfire smoke.
• Early color is already being observed in northern Minnesota, including the Chippewa National Forest, with local experts citing variable rainfall and recent cool nights as contributing factors.
• SmokyMountains.com’s county-level map projects peak around Oct. 13 for Northeast Ohio lakeshore counties, with inland areas roughly a week later and higher elevations tending to turn earlier.
• Regional planning guides highlight Michigan’s Upper Peninsula around Oct. 10–12 with Great Lakes shorelines lagging, while New England forecasters flag an earlier turn in northern Vermont after a dry summer and note growing concerns about beech leaf disease.