Fall foliage in New Hampshire

New Hampshire turns from the summits down. The high slopes of the White Mountains, Mount Washington and the Notches lead at the end of September; the Kancamagus and the Franconia and Crawford valleys follow in the first week of October; the Lakes Region and Monadnock finish in the second and third weeks. Sugar maple gives the north its reds, with birch and beech for gold; oaks carry the southern hills. The mountains and the lakes are typically a week or more apart.

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

• Maine fall foliage
• Massachusetts fall foliage
• Vermont 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 New Hampshire you would like covered? Write to fallcastapp@gmail.com.