Fall foliage in Connecticut

Connecticut moves from the Litchfield Hills toward Long Island Sound over about two weeks. The northwest corner around Kent, Cornwall and Bear Mountain turns in the second week of October, and the change works southeast through the Housatonic and Farmington valleys to the ridges above New Haven and the shoreline by the last week of the month. Sugar and red maple give the northwest its reds; oaks and hickories carry the lower, later parts of the state in bronze and gold.

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

• Massachusetts fall foliage
• New York fall foliage
• Rhode Island 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 Connecticut you would like covered? Write to fallcastapp@gmail.com.