Fall foliage in Alabama

Color reaches Alabama late, and the pattern is more regional than directional. The Appalachian foothills around Mount Cheaha and the Talladega National Forest hold most of the state’s deciduous color and usually turn in the last days of October and the first week of November; the Bankhead National Forest and the Sipsey Wilderness change over the same period. Oaks, hickories and sweetgum make up most of the canopy, with sourwood and black gum supplying the red. The Gulf Coast plain stays green well into November and fades rather than peaks.

Those are the months when color is present somewhere in Alabama, from its highest ground to its lowest. Any one location changes over a much shorter period than that.

Why the timing shifts from year to year

Shortening days start the process, so most places in Alabama change at close to their usual time each year. Within the state, elevation and latitude account for most of the difference: higher and more northern ground generally changes first, and lower, sheltered ground last. Weather has more effect on how strong the color is than on when it appears. Cool nights and sunny days favor the reds, a dry summer mutes them, and a hard freeze or a windstorm can strip a slope in a day. What determines the timing goes through this in detail.

Nearby states

Fall color does not follow state lines. Alabama borders:

• Florida fall foliage
• Georgia fall foliage
• Mississippi fall foliage
• Tennessee fall foliage

Timing for a specific place

This page describes a whole state, which is about as precise as a season can be described in words. Conditions at one overlook on one weekend are a narrower question, and that is the one Fallcast answers: an expected period of color for a specific location, with a confidence attached, updated through the season as the trees change. It is coming to iPhone this fall.

Questions, or somewhere in Alabama you would like covered? Write to fallcastapp@gmail.com.