As summer slips into fall over the weekend, the time has come for the fall color faithful — sometimes known as “leaf peepers” — to start making plans to celebrate nature’s seasonal pageant of colorful leaves as the change from summer’s deep green to the flaming oranges, reds and yellows of autumn unfolds.
Chances of a “spectacular” fall color season for Chattanooga are unlikely, but thanks to adequate rain and a cooler-than-usual summer, conditions should still fuel a good fall color show across the Chattanooga region in the coming weeks, according to forecasters at the Tennessee Climate Office at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City.
State climatologist Andrew Joyner said local fall colors could be the best in years, considering recent years of dry weather. The most vivid colors will be found in one of the South’s leaf peeping meccas, Tennessee’s Appalachian Mountains, particularly the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the national forests that border it.
The color change in the Smokies starts in early to mid-October above 4,000 feet in elevation, according to the National Park Service.