According to the Astronomical Applications Department at the U.S. Naval Observatory, the Autumnal Equinox will occur on Thursday September 22 2022 at 9:04 PM EDT in the Northern Hemisphere. While this date marks the astronomical beginning of fall, just when can folks in the Atlanta region expect to see the leaves on the neighborhood trees turn, turn, turn? SmokyMountains.com has a forecast for that! And it’s in map form, and you know that we love that! Click on the map image below to access an interactive map that allows you to drag and drop to get a custom display for any desired Fall viewing date. A quick primer for the maps in this piece: as the shading in an area moves from green through yellow towards “middle” red, the fall colors near and reach their peak …if the shading gets to darker/darkest red in an area, that indicates that fall colors are past peak in that area.

Using data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)– like historical and forecasted temperatures and precipitation– the map model above suggests that fall foliage will begin to appear in metro Atlanta around Monday, October 10, 2022. North Georgia will take on its fall coating of colors between the 17th and the 31st. The, colorful leaves in the Atlanta metro will peak around Monday, November 7, 2022 (see below image and again click on it to go to the interactive map) and then gradually disappear from the trees as winter approaches. For more on how rainfall, temperature, and sunlight affect leaf coloration, check out this informative article on National Public Radio (NPR): https://www.npr.org/2022/09/14/1122657153/fall-leaves-peak-map