Temperatures are cooling down and the nights are getting longer – fall is upon us! The changing leaves are another sign of the season. Some areas in the higher terrain have seen some decent progress over the past week.

If you want to celebrate the first weekend of fall with some leaf peeping, you’ll need to take a drive to the higher terrain. Spots like Old Forge and Tupper Lake are already reached the color midpoint. Early colors have been spotted all around the Green Mountain State. More pops of color are showing up at Whiteface Mountain and Lake Pleasant. You may have even spotted some patches in the higher spots of the Capital District.

So, the color change is on it’s way. Peak foliage might be a little delayed this year. The wet summer followed by an extended surge of late-season wet continued the production of chlorophyll, keeping the leaves green. We need cool nights, dry and mild afternoons to move the changing foliage along.

I stumbled across some neat foliage data from Explore Fall. This summer’s weather won’t just delay peak foliage, but it has also put stress on the leaves. You would think – rain is good. And it is. But too much is not good for the fall foliage. The excessive and heavy summer rain has stressed the leaves. The color change will still happen, and the shades will be rather bright. But the leaves will drop more quickly. So, once you see that peak has been reached in your favorite leaf peeping spot you’ll need seize the opportunity.

Stay tuned for next week’s foliage report. We should a lot more color around the Northeast!