Get ready for an eye-popping fall, outdoor enthusiasts say.
Foresters with the Missouri Department of Conservation said 2021 will be a prime year for viewing fall foliage in Missouri.
With that in mind, those who want to find the best places to view the changing fall foliage can use MDC's fall color report at mdc.mo.gov/fallcolor.
As of Friday, the MDC was reporting that none of its eight regions were indicating the fall foliage had begun.
"Our report is updated weekly from MDC foresters all over the state," MDC community forester Ann Koenig said. "Users can see where trees are beginning to turn and get recommendations on great places to view the changing leaves."
MDC officials said leaves change color at different times, so a fall color season in Missouri may last four to six weeks.
Missouri trees first begin changing color in the northern part of the state, then move southward. Sassafras, sumac and Virginia creeper are some of the earliest to change, beginning in mid- September. By late September, black gum, bittersweet and dogwood are turning.
Generally, the color change is predictable, but much depends on the weather, Koenig said.
"Chilly fall nights play a big role in the color display," Koenig said. "Sugars produced by photosynthesis become trapped inside leaves. Those sugars are the building blocks for the rich red, yellow, orange and purple pigments. Cooler nights cause the breakdown of green pigments, allowing fall colors to show through."
Koenig noted bright, cloudless fall days are ideal for a good display of autumn color.
"As a general rule, the third week in October is a good time to pay attention to fall color in Mid-Missouri," Koenig said. "Colors are usually fading and leaves are falling by the end of the month."
MDC state forester Justine Gartner said we did have a good amount of rainfall this year, so the leaves on the trees are in good shape, not stressed as we've seen in recent years when it was much drier.
"It's a wait-and-see game because the amount of rainfall we get in the summer sets the stage for what manifests in the fall," Gartner said. "As long as we don't have some monsoon rains move through in the next couple of weeks, we should be fine. We also have to watch out for remnants of storms that may come up from the Gulf of Mexico. We've seen some of those in recent years, and their winds can pull off leaves just as the colors are starting so that can affect how long we get to enjoy them."
Gartner suggested Mid-Missouri residents could take drives to see the foliage along the Missouri River - particularly along Missouri 94 - between Columbus Day, Oct. 11, and Oct. 15.
"If you're driving around Jefferson City, red maple trees are turning early usually, and those jump out with red color," Garnter said. "If you're taking 94, you'll see mostly oak and hickory trees turning red and yellow. They don't all turn at the same time.
MDC's weekly fall color update is available at mdc.mo.gov/fallcolor. The updates run September through November.
"We also give links to other sites and have pictures that can help people figure out what trees they are seeing," Gartner added.
If you're looking to find out about the color forecasts for other areas of the country, you can use the interactive tool from SmokyMountains.com. It's the tourism site for the Smoky Mountain region and shows when peak fall foliage will happen, county by county, for the entire United States.
Weather forecasters said leaves are primed for a "beautiful season" and already beginning to change in some regions, despite heavy summer storms and unusual weather across the country.
Places with near normal climate conditions are predicted to produce good foliage this year, including areas of Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan and New England.
The peak for colors in many of these regions will occur over the next two weeks. And by the end of the first week of October, those colors will start to fade. However, in the Midwest, the colors are predicted to last as long as late October.