Fall foliage in North Carolina
North Carolina’s color begins above five thousand feet and takes about a month to reach the Piedmont. Roan Mountain, Newfound Gap and the highest stretches of the Blue Ridge Parkway turn in the middle of October; the valleys around Banner Elk, Boone and Bryson City follow in the third and fourth weeks; the foothills at Chimney Rock, Lake Lure and Hendersonville close the mountain season at the end of the month. The Piedmont peaks in early November and the coastal plain later still. Oaks, hickories and maple make up the mountain forest; sweetgum, dogwood and willow oak color the towns downstream.
- Color somewhere in the state
- October and November
- Trees
- hickory, maple, sweetgum, dogwood and willow oak
- Region
- Appalachians & Southeast
Those are the months when color is present somewhere in North Carolina, 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 North Carolina 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. North Carolina borders:
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 North Carolina you would like covered? Write to fallcastapp@gmail.com.