With the middle of the fall season nearing, leaves in most U.S. states have begun to change colors, wowing leaf-peepers with the orange, red, brown, and sometimes purple hues of autumn.
These changes happen during the fall, when there are fewer hours of daylight and temperatures drop. Reduced daylight hours and lower temperatures signal to trees that it’s time to store chlorophyll, the chemical that gives leaves their green color, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Once the trees store the chlorophyll, leaves are left with other chemicals that give them the tints of red, orange, and purple, known as fall colors.
Leaves have been slowly changing colors across the U.S. since mid-September, according to a fall foliage tracking map at Smokymountains.com. The map helps those wanting to capture photos or simply look at the leaves as they change colors figure out which spots will give them the best views.
Here’s what the leaves are looking like across the U.S. this weekend and early next week.
Leaf-peepers wanting to see peak fall colors will be in luck in some northern states.
