MDC: Fall color outlook bright in Missouri

On the first full day of fall, the thoughts of many leaf watchers are already turning to the colors ahead. But will this fall be a good year for fall colors in Missouri? According to the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Web site, “Conditions are ripe for a colorful fall.”
In Northeast Missouri, David Vance, a resource forester with the MDC, says “we should get standard fall color.”
Following recent dry summers, some are wondering what impact this year’s wet conditions will have on this fall’s colors.
“Really the rain shouldn’t effect colors. Colors are more effected by temperatures,” said Vance. “Last week and this week it’s gotten fairly warm during the day, but we’ve had particularly cool nights and that will dramatically effect the reds and oranges, like on sugar maples. They should have a brighter red and orange this year I would suspect. I’ve seen a few sugar maples turning and they have this really bright crimson red color to them.”
Despite this year’s weather conditions, Vance does not foresee an earlier or later burst of color in this corner of the state.
“I would say it will be about the same as other years. I don’t foresee any dramatic change between early and late fall colors,” he said. “Typically leaves are starting to change now. I know in the northern states and Canada they’re already changing. Here in northern Missouri I know I’ve seen some ash, sugar maple starting to change and it will progress its way further south. I would say probably within the next three weeks, by mid to late October, fall color will be at its peak.”
For leaves to have the chance to reach their full potential in terms of color, little precipitation and low winds will be necessary to help keep the leaves on trees longer, according to Vance.
In general, Missouri’s fall color season lasts from four to six weeks, according to the MDC’s Web site. Sassafras, sumac and Virginia creeper are some of the earliest to change. They begin to show their fall colors by mid-September. By late September, black gum, bittersweet and dogwood are changing. Missouri’s peak fall color is usually mid-October. This is when maples, ashes, oaks and hickories are at their peak.
Following is a regional outlook for color in Missouri according to the MDC:
• Northwest Region, including St. Joseph and Chillicothe: Some poison ivy and sumacs are beginning to change, but there is still a lot of green. Good weather this week (warm, sunny days and cool nights) could cause vibrant color in the early changers, so more sumac and poison ivy is expected to change in the next week.
• Kansas City Region: The outlook for fall color in the Kansas City Region this year is good. Fall colors should peak in the region sometime around October 20-27.
• Central Region, including Columbia, Jefferson City and Lake of the Ozarks: Fall color in the region is expected to be good. Already some ashes and black walnuts are starting to change. Ashes are turning light shades of yellow, purple and brown. Walnuts are turning yellow, and some have already shed most of their leaves.
• St. Louis Region: Very little leaf color is being seen thus far. A limited number of dogwoods and sumac are changing. It appears the region may be at least a week behind the norm of the last several years.
• Southwest Region, including Springfield, Branson and Joplin: Green is the predominant color, with sparse occurrences of fall color from the usual early changers: sassafras, flowering dogwood, sumac, Virginia creeper and poison ivy.
• Ozark Region, including Rolla, West Plains and Eminence: No real color change is being seen in the region. Scattered black walnuts have started to turn and lose leaves, and a few lowland maples and dogwoods are showing some signs of red. Expect peak color to arrive around the fourth week of October.