Fall foliage in Kansas

Kansas has no statewide progression to speak of; its fall color is confined to river corridors and the wooded east. Cottonwood, walnut, hackberry and oak along the Kansas, Neosho and Arkansas rivers turn gold and bronze from the third week of October into November, with the wooded hills of the east and the creek bottoms of the Flint Hills showing the most. The prairie grasses turn copper over the same period, and across most of the state that is the autumn color.

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

• Colorado fall foliage
• Missouri fall foliage
• Nebraska fall foliage
• Oklahoma 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 Kansas you would like covered? Write to fallcastapp@gmail.com.