By MATT PIKE
It’s officially the first day of autumn.
Leaves on the trees will begin changing, and the Missouri Department of Conservation is predicting a promising season of fall colors in the northwest region of the state.
In fact, Forester Timothy Wolfe says some leaves have already begun to change.
“Your Sumacs and as well as Walnut trees they’ve somewhat started, but our harder woods, like Hickories and some of the Oak species, those are going to start a little later,” Wolfe tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “So, we’ve started now, and I anticipate that we’ll probably be around that October 20th area is going to be our peak fall color based on the current conditions that we have.”
Wolfe with the Missouri Department of Conservation says the weather at the end of summer set the northwest region up for a promising bout of fall color
“Increasing cooler temperatures there towards the end of August, which was wonderful, we had a hot spell for a hot minute and then it transitioned into those cooler nights and warmer days, which is exactly what we are looking for for that transitional change,” Wolfe explains.
Wolfe says by the end of October it will be past the peak season of colors and things will start browning out after that, depending on the different variations of tree.
Wolfe says there are some prime places to view the fall colors in the northwest region
“You get down like on the river side, like 59 Highway or even like T Highway that goes down there along Amazonia and those areas, and even in St. Joseph southside like the Bluffwoods Conservation Area along those highways you’re going to see those hillsides, those hillsides are going to produce the good colors that we’re probably potentially getting to look for,” Wolfe says
Wolfe says some of the best areas to view the fall colors can be driving along the Loess Bluffs system or walking into open areas such as the Mark Youngdahl Conservation area in St. Joseph.
The Missouri Department of Conservation also offers reports on its website to the conditions where some of the best fall colors are around the state.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.
