Previous Updates:

October 16 Update

Peak colors at elevations above 4500' have peaked are beginning to fade!

Strong and gusty winds may hit the area Monday and Tuesday as cold weather arrives. This could greatly impact the leaf season in areas where there is peak color. In other words, the wind could blow the leaves right off the trees!

Elevations from 3000' up to 4500' are peak now and for the next several days!

Due to dry weather in some areas we will see trees change a very different times.

Temps in the 30's down to 1200' will enhance the colors but they may change quickly.

Several species, particularly maples are looking good down to 1200'

We updated the peak colors by elevations timeframe below.

October 10, 2022 Update

Crisp, cool weather with plenty of sun has accelerated the leaf changes just over the past few days! Colors look great at higher elevations and this week should be peak up there. Many other species of trees at all levels have reacted to the cool, sunny weather! Be sure to check out the web cams below!

October 6, 2022 Update

It looks like the heavy cloud cover from Hurricane last week delayed the leaf color changes by about 7 - 10 days. This is mainly the case in far Northeast Georgia and Western North Carolina. With sunny, dry, and colder temperatures over the past week you begin to see the changes take place.

We updated the date ranges on our Leaf Color Change by Elevation below to accommodate this information.

Update for Oct 1, 2022

Above 4500’ the colors on some species look great while others need another week or week and a half to have the best color. Some maples are displaying brilliant yellows and reds.

We observed colors just below 4000’ were still very green which is a good thing. Green leaves are still strong and will be less impacted by the remnants of Hurricane Ian.

The High South team took a trip up through Blue Ridge Georgia this week then over to Blairsville, Dahlonega and back to Chestatee. These towns are all between 1200’ and 2000’. The change from a dark green to a pale green was noticeable.

We also hiked in a new Nature Park just outside Blue Ridge, Fightingtown Creek Nature Park, a great new hiking and mountain bike park [see our review] and got up to 2200’. Areas at this elevation are probably a month away from peak.

Keep in mind that species will react differently to the fall change in daylight and temperatures and as we have seen before, we could see a prolonged leaf season – which is all good!

Sept 8, 2022

 We are a bit surprised to see some species of trees already changing and in a few cases, fully displaying great fall colors at 3200' elevation. Most trees at higher elevations are beginning to loose that dark green color - showing various shades of yellow and red.

Please scroll down for our estimated peak color times based on elevation.

September 26, 2022, Fall Leaf Color Update

Seasonal dry and cooler weather will help intensify the colors of autumn! Temps have dropped to the upper 30's and lower 40's in areas above 3200'. This is good news.

It looks like we are on target, give or take a few days, to peak colors based on elevation as shown lower on this page.

The impact of Hurricane Ian will be determined later this week should it hold together and move up into the Appalachia area of The High South! 

Update for Sept 12, 2012:

With plenty of rain this past week or so, lack of moisture will not be a problem for the trees and color changes. At this point the deciding factor will be temperatures which are expected to be above normal and that will delay the change by up to a week. Time will tell – stay tuned!

September 19, 2022, Fall Leaf Color Update

Next Update: Sept 26, 2022

Dry weather this past week will influence fall color changes and speed. A very wet week was followed by a very dry one and with rising temperatures in lower areas. Temps in the higher elevations are in the 40’s at night and that has color changes above 4500’ are now very evident.

Our forecast for color changes by elevation show below is on target.

The official start of Autumn is September 22 when the length of day and night are the equal.