Fall Foliage Report: Sept. 22

Patchy color is spreading through the state.

The higher terrain across western and northeastern Connecticut is seeing more and more color by the day. Through the valleys, city areas and shoreline, green is by far the dominate color.

Patchy color:
Most of Litchfield County is now reporting patchy color with some of the highest terrain even approaching near-peak conditions. It’s a similar story across far northeastern Connecticut and more colors are also being observed across some of the hills around Fairfield County.

Through this week:
Generally seasonable conditions are forecast through the week with daytime highs close to 70 degrees and lows generally in the 40s. This means that although there will be a gradual increase in color, there is no reason to believe that the color change will speed up compared to recent days. Travelers and leaf-gazers can enjoy spreading color across much of northwestern Connecticut. Color is developing quickest and the most consistently here. A trip into the northeastern hills should also feature some patchy color. While there is some sporadic turning of leaves across portions of southwestern Connecticut, greens will continue to be the predominate color. A few trees across central and southeastern Connecticut may show widely isolated color, but it will be several more days before color deepens there.

Longer range predictions include above average temperatures late this month, meaning that the leaf turning process may slow down. Regardless, near-peak conditions are likely in some areas before the month is over.

Map color table:
Green – Most leaves are green
Lime green – Patchy color is noted (more than 50% green)
Yellow – Colors are approaching peak (more than 50% turning)
Orange – Colors are peaking (more than 75% have turned)
Brown – Colors are turning brown and leaves are falling

Reports will be posted each Monday and Thursday through the foliage season.