ROANOKE, Va. – Fall is in the air, and it has probably been on your mind as the past several weeks have been cool! With that said, you may have seen some leaves beginning to change colors. Peak colors happen at various times across the country, but how do we fare here in Southwest Virginia?
[BE SURE TO BOOKMARK THIS ARTICLE AND SEND YOUR FALL FOLIAGE PICS HERE]
On average (91′-01′), foliage peaks around mid to late October. However, the recent stretch of weather will likely alter that timeframe this year.
We are coming off of one of the coolest Augusts on record, and the ingredients for a beautiful year of fall foliage have been around to start September.
1) Cool and crisp nights with temperatures above freezing
2) A succession of warm and sunny afternoons
If this trend continues, we will likely see an earlier onset of Fall foliage this year!
Here is a timeline for when leaves are expected to change color this season.
- Sept. 15: Minimal to patchy amounts of low color change will appear along parts of the Blue Ridge.
- Sept. 22: Southside, Lynchburg and The Roanoke Valley will begin to see low amounts of color changes during this time. The Highlands will begin experiencing moderate to high amounts of color, while the New River Valley will see moderate amounts of color.
- Sept. 29: Near peak colors are expected for The Highlands, while other localities see an improvement to fall colors.
- Oct. 6: Peak colors are expected to begin arriving along the Blue Ridge as areas along the Piedmont will begin seeing moderate to high amounts of color.
- Oct. 13: Areas along the Highlands will experience peak to past peak colors, while the New River Valley, Roanoke Valley, and areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway will see high amounts of color to peak conditions.
- Oct. 20: A lot of the Blue Ridge is expected to be around or past peak by this time. Southside and Lynchburg likely see peak colors during this week.
- Oct. 27: Most of Southwest Virginia’s fall foliage is expected to be past peak during this time. Various species of trees may continue to reach peak, but the majority of trees will begin to turn bare.
- Nov. 3: The Blue Ridge mountains will be past peak as color changes continue to move south. Areas across the Carolinas and Southeast will begin to see high amounts of color to peak conditions.
- Nov. 10: Most of the country will begin breaking out the rakes as peak colors have come and gone, with only states along the deep south continuing to see moderate to high amounts of color.
- Nov. 17: Fall foliage is expected to reach its end around this time.
You can check out the 2025 Fall foliage interactive map from SmokeyMountains.com below:
Areas along the Rocky Mountains are starting to see low amounts of color. Above is the current (as of Sept. 8) foliage map.
Over the next week, isolated areas of moderate color will start to be seen across the lower 48.
Why do leaves change color?
The answer to this question has to do with the Earth’s tilt. As the Earth rotates around the sun, the tilt causes lower amounts of daylight for the northern hemisphere as we head deeper into the year.
The lack of sunlight causes chlorophyll production (food) in leaves to stop. As this happens, an array of beautiful colors erupts from leaf to leaf as they return to their natural colors (chlorophyll turns them green).
A gorgeous spectacle of color results across the northern hemisphere.
To stay up to date on all things weather, download our weather app.