Fall foliage in Arkansas

Arkansas has a late, compact season and modest relief, so the change moves more by latitude than by elevation. The Ozark highlands along the Buffalo National River and around Eureka Springs turn in the final week of October; the Ouachita Mountains, Mount Magazine and Petit Jean follow in the first week of November; the river valleys and the country around Little Rock finish by mid-November. Oaks and hickories dominate in russet and gold, with maple, black gum and sweetgum in the hollows.

Those are the months when color is present somewhere in Arkansas, 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 Arkansas 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. Arkansas borders:

• Louisiana fall foliage
• Mississippi fall foliage
• Missouri fall foliage
• Oklahoma fall foliage
• Tennessee fall foliage
• Texas 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 Arkansas you would like covered? Write to fallcastapp@gmail.com.