Fall colors slow to creep into Michiana

NOW: Fall colors slow to creep into Michiana

More and more of the trees out here in Michiana are shifting to those yellows, oranges, and even reds as we round out October. But, it's been a very slow progression to the beautiful fall colors. Take a look at the current conditions across Michiana. Most are in the moderate category, meaning that about half of the trees are already showing beautiful colors, while about half of Michiana is still struggling. Just up to the north, however, around the Grand Rapids area, peak conditions are being reported there and throughout central Michigan.

This slower progression closer to home is actually changing our forecast slightly. Expected peak time has been backed up to the very end of October, basically Halloween into the first few days of November for areas farther down to the south. So, you may have to wait a little longer to get those beautiful fall scenes. Or, just head up to Grand Rapids over the weekend to grab a look at the beautiful colors.

It has been a slower change compared to normal from the summer greens to the fall yellows, oranges, and reds. Here's a look at the historical average. We should be hitting our peak right now for all of Michiana, but that's just not the case this year. Most of the colors should start to fade as the majority of the leaves fall in the first few days of November. 

But, the recent trend shows something a little different. Those peak time have been backing up closer to Halloween and early November and leaves are staying on the trees later than normal.


This is all primarily caused by the extension of the summer season and the lack of cool, crisp mornings. Over the past couple of years, I'm sure some of you at home have noticed that the seasons have the tendency to go from summer straight to winter at times. Well, when we skip over those cool, dry, fall mornings, it really hurts the trees' ability to produce vibrant colors. We need cool and dry nights to really get those trees to pop! And that's something that we haven't had enough of this season.

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