Fall colors in Chattanooga area predicted to be spectacular this year

Experts say color change underway at higher elevations, coming soon in the valleys

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / A woodlot glows with late fall color behind the Sethman home in East Brainerd during the second week of November in 2021.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / A woodlot glows with late fall color behind the Sethman home in East Brainerd during the second week of November in 2021.

Most of East Tennessee can expect a spectacular fall leaf season thanks to recent cool nights and bright, sunny days, according to the Tennessee Climatology Office in Johnson City.

There was some concern about Hurricane Ian causing an early leaf drop, but most of the Appalachian Mountains avoided that outcome, and a vibrant color season is on the way, according to state climatologist Andrew Joyner and other climatology officials at the Climatology Office's home at East Tennessee State University. He said last year's warm fall led to less-than-vivid color display and a late color change.

"We're at or slightly below average with temperatures in some parts of East Tennessee and especially the nighttime temperature," Joyner said Wednesday in a phone interview. "Since we've had cooler nighttime temperatures this year than we have had the last number of years, we've got good color coming on a little sooner than we've been seeing it."

Folks in areas that experienced dry or drought conditions in recent months could see less color, he said. Joyner pointed to recent work by Travis Watson, ETSU's campus arborist, who has begun publishing an informal weekly leaf color report.

Despite a ruffling from Ian, East Tennessee is still on track for good color and he expects higher elevations to peak this week, with valley locations expected to peak mid-to-late October, according to Watson.

Watson said conditions are perfect this year for speculator fall foliage.

While Ian passed without a fuss, tropical activity can always pose a risk to fall color, he said.

"High winds and heavy rain could cause significant leaf drop, but the continued cool nights and sunny days should help create a vibrant display of color," Watson said in his report.

The website smokymountains.com offers a county-by-county map of the U.S. with a timeline slider that predicts when the peak color change is expected to occur.

(READ MORE: Five drives full of fall color)

Chattanooga Riverboat Co. spokeswoman Joy Reinert said five dates for the Southern Belle's traditional fall color cruises have already sold out. The company started the fall cruises in 1985.

"We've had about a week of cold temperatures so the trees are starting to change right now," Reinert said Wednesday in a phone interview. "We feel like they're going to be at their peak maybe towards the end of October, maybe the 28th or 29th, that should be really good viewing."

The past three or four years the color change seemed to happen later, she said.

"We do our three-hour cruise down through the Tennessee River Gorge, and it's very scenic. We're surrounded by mountain, and it's just gorgeous through there. To be perfectly honest, whether it's green or orange, it's still gorgeous," Reinert said.

According to the National Park Service, the color change in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park typically starts in early-to mid-October above 4,000 feet in elevation. Elevation profoundly affects fall color change in the park, and the cooler nights have pushed most areas to an earlier color season than the past couple of years or so.

The webcams on the Tennessee-North Carolina line at Newfound Gap and a little to the south at the 6,643-foot peak on Clingmans Dome inside the park shows trees already changing from summer's deep green to oranges, yellows and hues of red.

National Park officials warn visitors of increasing crowds of visitors during the final three weeks of October. Officials suggest folks taking in the fall colors in the Smokies to also keep an eye out for wildflowers blooming along roadsides.

WHY LEAVES CHANGE

Leaves turn green each spring using pigments -- chlorophyll, xanthophyll and carotenoids -- to harness energy from the sun. The chlorophyll absorbs the red and blue wavelengths of light striking the leaves but not the green wavelengths that are reflected back to our eyes, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The other "fall colors" are always there but are just hidden by the chlorophyll.

(READ MORE: Why climate change is making it harder to chase fall foliage in the Chattanooga area)

As temperatures cool and days get shorter, leaves on deciduous trees stop producing new chlorophyll, and the summer's green color breaks down to reveal the other pigments that have been masked all season as fewer hours of daylight cause the green to fade and the colors beneath to show, according to the forest service.

The Cumberland Plateau and Southern Appalachians should be reaching peak color soon, and the valleys across East Tennessee should follow as fall continues into November, Joyner said.

"Anything above 3,000 feet, for sure, is probably changing or in the middle of changing, and that will move down to the 2,000s this week," Joyner said.

Recent dry conditions in the Chattanooga area won't have much effect on colors, he said.

"Whatever's going to happen to the color is kind of baked into the pie at this point," Joyner said.

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.


Upcoming Events