BUFFALO, N.Y. — After a few chilly nights across upstate New York this past week, fall colors have really started to become more apparent in several regions. Most notably, peak fall colors are expected across the Adirondacks this week.
In the latest update of the ILOVENY Fall Foliage Map for Oct. 5 to 11, much more of the state is now reporting partial fall colors beginning to show. This includes Western New York with a sliver of the Southern Tier anticipating near peak color later this week and weekend.
In fact, near peak color will likely be reported across the Southern Tier within the next update with several cooler days in the forecast Friday through Monday.
As for the rest of the state, portions of the Adirondacks are reporting peak fall colors already where "gorgeous peak fall color is expected this weekend," according to ILOVENY's field observers. The Catskills will closely follow suit with near peak colors seen there this week. And finally, the Hudson Valley and Long Island is reporting their first sights of fall color.
Back to local leaves, at this rate peak fall colors for the Southern Tier could arrive as early as mid-October, possibly the week of October 17th. The typical peak for fall colors in the greater Buffalo area is usually sometime in early November. For the Southern Tier, it's late October.
But with the first sign of fall colors in the for Western New York arriving about a week ahead of schedule, this could mean the region experiences peak fall color in late October for Buffalo, Niagara Falls and the Genesee Valley.
Even so, the future forecast can play a still play a role in how quickly leaves change. Unseasonably cool nights early on could accelerate the process while warmer days can allow it to lag.
ILOVENY.COM's map is made through the culmination of visual reports from volunteer spotters and archived data from previous years.