Week of Sep 20–Sep 26 · USA-NPN volunteers and official reports
Where color is furthest alongfall foliage, week by week
Where is fall color furthest along this week?
In the week of Sep 20–Sep 26, New England had the most color: 48% of 62 volunteer sites showed colored leaves, against 46% in a typical fall by then. Southern Appalachians (5%, usually 29%) was behind.
Updated Sep 26. Source: USA National Phenology Network, colored leaves observations ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Share of volunteer sites with color
- 1New Englandabout normalVT, NH, ME, MA, CT, RI · 62 sites this week
48% with color (30 of 62)usually 46% this week
- 2Upper Midwestabout normalMN, WI, MI · 32 sites this week
44% with color (14 of 32)usually 46% this week
- 3Mid-Atlanticabout normalNY, PA, NJ, MD, DE · 54 sites this week
28% with color (15 of 54)usually 33% this week
- 4Southern AppalachiansbehindTN, NC, VA, KY, GA, WV · 42 sites this week
5% with color (2 of 42)usually 29% this week
The black mark is the same week in a typical fall; the small chart is the whole season (grey typical, color this fall). Left out this week: Southern Rockies (5 sites); a region is ranked from 10 sites.
States with 10 or more sites
California
73%
8 of 11 sites · usually 58%
aheadNew Hampshire
65%
15 of 23 sites · usually 72%
about normalMinnesota
46%
12 of 26 sites · usually 51%
about normalMaryland
45%
5 of 11 sites · too few typical sites to compare
Massachusetts
32%
7 of 22 sites · usually 41%
about normalPennsylvania
31%
4 of 13 sites · usually 24%
about normalNew York
21%
6 of 29 sites · usually 42%
behindTexas
20%
3 of 15 sites · too few typical sites to compare
Oregon
9%
1 of 11 sites · usually 12%
about normalNorth Carolina
0%
0 of 23 sites · usually 41%
behind
Official reports this week
No official report was logged this week.
Questions people ask
Why regions and not every state?
Most states have only a few volunteer sites in a given week: this week 25 states had fewer than 10, too few to say anything. Pooled by region, every ranked region had at least 32 sites.
What is "typical"?
For each week, the volunteer sites seen in that week in at least 2 of the falls 2020–2025, each at its middle stage. "Ahead" or "behind" means 10 points or more away from that.
What counts as "with color"?
A site where volunteers saw colored leaves (yellow, orange, red or brown) on at least one tree that week, whatever species they follow. It shows where fall is under way, not where it peaks.
Is this a forecast?
No. It's what volunteers and official reports saw in the week shown. The page is replaced each week; old weeks aren't kept.