A 'fantastic' fall foliage season is expected this year. What to know

Pennsylvania should have another great year of fall color according to two local experts.

Fall foliage is something many look forward to each October and this year is looking to be better than average for several reasons.

“So far, it’s shaping up to be a gorgeous fall foliage season this year. I believe it’s going to be fantastic this year,” Ryan Reed, natural resource program specialist in the Bureau of Forestry with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said in a telephone interview.

“It was very hot and dry for the bulk of July, even pushing a little into August in some places. I really think that the mid-to-late August rainfall that we received, some of it due to Tropical Storm Debby, really helped us to reverse our fortunes when it comes to the amount of water received over the summer,” Reed said.

From last year: Here's why and where you should see eye-popping colorful foliage in Pennsylvania

He did notice a few leaves fell early on some maples, cherries and birches. “They seemed to have stabilized and I think our forests are looking pretty good heading into the early part of fall foliage season,” he said.

Pennsylvania had a hot and dry summer, but the trees were able to endure the conditions.

“Our forests are adapted to be able to handle some hot and dry periods,” he said. “It’s when things get extreme that maybe you might notice some diminishment of color quality and duration. I don’t think the period of drought this summer overall in Pennsylvania will affect our fall foliage in a substantial way.”

Reed said having too little rainfall is better than too much rain.

“That’s because of the leaf fungus that can really proliferate when you have a really wet and humid summer,” he said.

The dry period Pennsylvania had throughout the bulk of the summer kept the leaves free of disease.

“While it’s not great for growth of trees, it’s good for keeping the fungus at bay,” he said.

From Reed's observations around the commonwealth, he said the tree canopies are full.

There are a few exceptions such as where the spongy moths (formerly known as gypsy moths) in northcentral and northeastern Pennsylvania and cankerworms in southwestern Pennsylvania in the Forbes District defoliated some of the trees.

“Those trees mostly leafed back out with smaller leaf sets, but they should still contribute a good bit of color this year,” he said. “We are shaping up for a really nice season.”

A weather observer is optimistic about the foliage as well.

Nicholas Beaty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College, said it’s too early to tell how the weather will impact the leaves, but he believes the area is on track for a good year.

“As of the past previous month in August, we did get a pretty moist pattern, we got quite a bit of rainfall across Pennsylvania that might keep them a little bit longer,” Beaty said.

Cooler and drier than average weather patterns are in the forecast, making Beaty believe the leaves will soon be changing colors.

“More colors will start to come out as we continue through the month and into the beginning of October,” he said.

When to expect fall colors

Reed said the leaves will soon be changing from green to yellows, red and orange colors.

“I’m starting to see a little bit of blush of color already and I’m in southern Pennsylvania,” he said.

Areas in the north like Potter and Tioga County have their leaves change earlier than other parts of the state.

“The transition begins in the northcentral and northeastern counties of Pennsylvania, roughly moving from say the Warren area over into northeastern Pennsylvania like Pike County,” he said.

Erie has a delayed effect because of the heat storage of Lake Erie and the leaves change a little later than outlying counties.

“The color change will progress its way down south, heading down through the Appalachians and Alleghenies throughout October and then finally ending up in southeastern counties which tend to stay a lot warmer later into October and early November,” Reed said.

Weekly leaf updates

To plan your adventures, the DCNR offers weekly updates on the leaves, starting Sept. 26 on its website, dcnr.pa.gov, and continuing for about six weeks depending on the conditions.

The length of the foliage season depends on the weather. Heavy rains can blow the leaves off the trees earlier than other years.

Looking at the long-range weather forecasts, Reed doesn’t see anything that would negatively impact the leaves.

“I expect this year to shape up a lot like last year. Last year was a beautiful year," he said. "We had a fairly normal fall foliage season in terms of timing. So I expect a lot of the same this year. I don’t think it’s really going to be very different, which is a good thing because we had a great fall foliage season last year."

Reed urges people to plan to visit the commonwealth’s 20 state forest districts and 124 parks this fall to see the colorful splendor.

“I think Pennsylvanians can expect a fantastic fall foliage season this year in Pennsylvania,” he said.

Healthy forests

“We might feel like we can take it for granted, but this is not a guarantee. We are not guaranteed to have a vibrant and healthy forest. We are not guaranteed to be able to do this forever. Our forests do require our attention. They require our conservation,” he said.

Agencies like the DCNR and Pennsylvania Game Commission have spongy moth suppression programs on public lands.

“This year we were up near 300,000 acres of suppression spraying and we’ve done a lot to ensure the health of significant state forest land,” Reed said about the DCNR. “That is a direct benefit to the fall foliage season."

However, Reed points out that 70% of forestlands are owned by private interests with different levels of management.

“A lot of the stewardship of our forests does rest on the shoulders of the private forest landowners,” he said.

The forests are also important to the state and economy.

“It has to be many millions of dollars,” he said about the economic impact of those enjoying the fall colors.

Reed said most parts of the state have festivals and celebrations based on fall foliage.

“It’s an understated attribute of our economic portfolio,” Reed said.

Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at [email protected] and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Fall foliage 2024: When will fall colors see their Pa. peak?