MAINE, Maine — Goodbye summer, hello pumpkin-spiced everything, cool nights, and fall colors that set the horizon on fire!
Halloween candy is already crowding supermarket aisles and the colors of candy corn are being spotted among Maine leaves. Fall is almost upon us and with it come those brief few weeks as colors ignite the Maine landscape drawing tourists from all over the world to catch a glimpse of our fleeting fall foliage.
If you are a serious leaf peeper or just enjoy the fall colors, the Smokey Mountains 2019 interactive predictive map will help make sure you are not caught unaware, wishing you had planned a hike or family photos before the falls colors are gone.
According to this year's map:
- Oct. 5 -12: Peak colors for northern Maine
- Oct. 12-19: Peak colors for southern Maine
- Oct. 19: Brown colors til winter's cold grip pries every last deceased leaf from its branch.
The key factors affecting fall colors are sunlight, rainfall, soil moisture, and temperature, according to Smoky Mountain officials.
"Although the scientific concept of how leaves change colors is fairly simple, predicting the precise moment the event will occur is extremely challenging," Smoky Mountain officials say.
The Smoky Mountains uses data from NOAA and bases their predictions on current and historical temperatures and precipitation, along with average daylight exposure and past leaf trends.
Fall starts Monday, September 23 and ends on Saturday, December 21.
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