Fall Foliage Report: Oct. 13

Most of Connecticut is seeing near-peak to peak foliage.

The hilly terrain of western and northeastern Connecticut now has peak foliage. Near-peak color reaches down to nearly the shoreline. Only the immediate coast and a few urban areas are seeing just patchy color.

Peak:
Vibrant color is noted near and north of I-84 in western Connecticut. The deepest colors are across the higher terrain, although some of the highest hills are observing past peak conditions.

Near-peak:
Foliage is approaching peak throughout much of the state, with fairly widespread color in most areas north of I-95. An area that is quickly approaching peak is east-central Connecticut.

Patchy color:
The immediate shoreline and a small urban area around Hartford are the only areas hanging on to just peak color. Even here, the color change has been speeding up over the past few days.

Through this week:
Some relatively warm weather with highs in the 70s for Tuesday and Wednesday will make for both pleasant foliage-viewing conditions and a momentary slow-down in the leaf turning process. With that said, there are many areas to view the colors. One of the most scenic drives will be on Route 6 just about anywhere in western Connecticut. The quite corner across northeastern Connecticut will also feature some nice color.

As the season progresses, foliage will come and go rather quickly across the higher terrain of Litchfield County. Here, the leaf drop is already quite substantial and some areas are moving into the past-peak category. Aside from that area, expect colors to deepen and spread across the remainder of the state.

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.