COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Wednesday a cold front will bring our first preview of Fall Weather here in the Midlands. With the arrival of cooler temperatures, fall leaves will be here before you know it. Looking at our state, according to data from ExploreFall.com, late October and November is when we typically see our peak color. There are a few things we can look at now though to predict when and how the leaves change.
The first being soil moisture. A drier Fall, leads to less vibrant leaves. This will likely be the case for areas in the Midwest that are experiencing drought conditions. Here in the Carolinas, rain has been around average which is good news.
Temperatures also play a big role in when leaves begin to change. Our cooler Fall last year made for one of the best Falls in a while. Warmer weather tends to push back leave change which can cause issues.
While the short-term forecast looks cooler, the weather through the beginning of October looks to be around average. Conditions during the month leading up to November will give us a perfect picture of how the leaves will change this year.
With leaves changing already this upcoming week in the Rocky Mountains and northern Midwest, it will be a matter of time before we will be raking up leaves here in the Midlands. With our current outlook, it looks like we will possibly be in store for another good Fall leaf year here along the East Coast US.