Checking in on Fall colors across Minnesota

Many of you may have noticed that some trees are beginning to turn more yellow and red across our area over the last few weeks. It is that time of year again after all! But what do fall colors look like across the state, and how is the recent warm weather impacting them?

A majority of Minnesota is in the “partial” or “little” fall color range. Northern Minnesota currently has the most prominent fall color scheme compared to the rest of the state, which is certainly not out of the ordinary. Typically this time of year, we tend to see a little bit more fall color by this time. Are the warmer temperatures to blame?

Partially yes, but not entirely. It turns out, temperatures are not the only thing that can trigger the leaves to turn colors in our area and elsewhere. Daylight also plays a major role in the changing of the leaves!

Now that we are past the Autumnal Equinox (first day of Fall), our days are rapidly getting shorter. We now see more darkness than we do daylight, which has a major impact on plants. With less sunlight, leaves are not able to produce food for themselves as efficiently, leading them to slowly turn colors.

This happens with some trees more so than others, with some trees responding more to daylight change as opposed to temperature change. With other trees though, the warmer temperatures certainly have an impact on how fast their leaves turn colors! Warmer temperatures across Minnesota and Iowa have led to a slower transition of fall colors this year than in past years for a variety of trees.

With that said, a later peak in fall colors due to the warmer temperatures is likely at this point in time. Trees that depend more heavily on the amount of sunlight they are exposed will change color regardless of when temperatures begin to drop. This may lead to a more non-synchronized peak in fall colors between trees that rely on sunlight versus those that are more respondent to temperature drops.