We here at WCPO 9 have already covered no fewer than three pumpkin-related stories, so naturally the changing of the leaves has to come next.
Fortunately, the timing is good because several fall foliage predictions have recently been published.
The end of October and first week of November are predicted to be the peak season for the Tri-State's trees.
Leaves should be at their most vivid from about October 28-Nov. 4. We found this range after looking at a variety of different sources.
First, our WCPO 9 Meteorologist Jennifer Ketchmark says that historically speaking, we typically we do see our peak in that last week of October and the beginning of November.
Great Parks of Hamilton County released a map showing the different phases across Ohio. They're saying that Nov. 1-4 will be best for southwestern Ohio.
Smokymountains.com creates an annual predictive interactive map that forecasts foliage across the country. More broadly across the Tri-State, they predict that beginning Oct. 28, our leaves will peak. You can see the rich red color on the map below where you can expect the peak leaves to be that week.
Lastly, Accuweather.com predicts that leaves will be the most vibrant in the Midwest this year, due to the combination of wet/dry conditions we've had leading up to the change in seasons, but their predictions of peak foliage were slightly earlier than the others, showing the Tri-State peaking closer to mid-October.
Our dry conditions to end the summer here could potentially push back peak foliage, and if drought conditions remain the norm, it could lead to duller leaves in the fall. The U.S. Forest Service says "warm sunny fall days with cool nights should produce the most brilliant autumn colors."
Either way, grab your pumpkin spice latte and head out with your phone camera beginning around mid-October to catch those colors.
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