New York Fall Foliage Report
Week of Oct. 7-13, 2015
Peak Colors Continue To Progress Across New York State
Adirondacks, Catskills, Central NY and Greater Niagara regions to see peak colors this weekend
This is the fifth 2015 FALL COLOR REPORT for New York State. Reports are obtained from field observers and reflect expected color conditions for the coming weekend. FALL COLOR REPORTS are issued every Wednesday afternoon.
Beautiful peak and near peak fall colors will continue a somewhat sluggish progression across New York State this Columbus Day weekend, according to observers for Empire State Development’s I LOVE NY program. Peak foliage in the Adirondacks will be joined by peak colors in the Catskills, Central New York and the Greater Niagara regions.
In the Adirondacks, brilliant peak colors will arrive in Lake Placid in Essex County this weekend. Look for bright shades of red and orange, along with shades of gold, yellow, brown and some green. In Wilmington, Whiteface Mountain will
also be at peak. Peak colors are holding on in Franklin County. Spotters reporting from Tupper Lake and Mt. Arab expect 85-90 percent leaf change with muted shades of yellow and orange, radiant shades of red and shades of burgundy. Spotters note this area of the state, which has been warmer than usual and has been lacking rain and frost, is usually well past peak at this time of year. Expect peak conditions in Old Forgein Herkimer County. Spotters there predict 80 percent color change with bright shades of yellow and orange, along with touches of red and purple leaves. Muted, near
peak color is projected for northern Warren County. Spotters in North Creekexpect 85 percent color change with dull
Hamilton County spotters reporting from Speculator expect near peak leaves with 85-90 percent color change and average to bright shades of orange and red, along with some yellows.earth tones predominating along with some bright soft maples. Colors are muted shades, or orange and yellow and a lot of green remains at 2000-3000′ elevations. In the southern portion of the county, spotters in Lake George expect near midpoint of change foliage at about 40 percent color transition and soft tones of yellow, rust and orange, along with some shades of red.
Also in the Adirondacks, spotters in Ticonderoga in Essex County expect midpoint conditions by the weekend with 65 percent color change with brightening oranges and reds predominating. In Willsboro, spotters expect the area’s leaves to be at midpoint of change with 50 percent leaf transition and plentiful bright shades of yellow and gold, along with some rusty orange and bright red highlights. In Crown Point, look for 25-40 percent color change by the weekend with tinges of muted color, including shades of yellow, russet and limited sparks of orange and red.
Foliage in the Capital-Saratoga region will be mostly around midpoint of change by the weekend. In Fulton County, spotters reporting from Gloversville expect midpoint conditions with 50-60 percent leaf change and predominating colors of yellow, orange, red and rust. Saratoga Springs spotters are calling for 50 percent change and note that bursts of bright reds, burgundy, deep oranges and bright yellows along with amber and green are visible throughout Saratoga County. InRensselaer County, look for 35-40 percent color change with more color showing in the eastern and northern parts of the county (40-50 percent) and in higher elevations. Look for shades of bright orange, yellow, red and green. Spotters in Albany County reporting from Cohoes expect 40-45 percent color change and midpoint conditions with shades of yellow and gold, along with some red and green leaves of average brilliance. In Schenectady County, spotters in Glenville expect 40 percent color change with bright splashes of red predominating.
Peak colors will be appearing in the northern Catskills, in Greene County, in elevations above 2000′ feet this weekend. According to spotters, look for bright red and yellow leaves. Greene County spotters reporting from Catskillexpect 75-80 percent color change and near peak conditions rapidly changing bright red and yellow leaves. Colors will be peak to just past peak in Delaware County.
Look for nearly complete color change and predominating shades of gold of average brilliance. Sullivan County spotters reporting from Ferndale expect 65-70 percent color change and near peak conditions with brilliant pockets of color throughout the county featuring bright oranges, rich reds and muted yellows; near peak. Foliage change varies in Ulster County depending on location. Spotters at Belleayre Mountain in Highmount expect midpoint to near peak leaves this weekend with 60-70 percent color change and beautiful shades of red and yellow. Spotters in Saugerties expect midpoint of change leaves with areas past 60 percent of change and bright yellow and gold leaves, along with some shades of orange. In Kingston, just 15-20 percent leaf change is expected. Spotters note an increasing amount of yellow and orange leaves along with scattered amounts of red and burnt orange.
Peak foliage comes to Central New York this weekend by way of Binghamton, according to spotters there. Look for 70-75 percent color change and bright red, orange and yellow leaves. Leaves will be near peak in Cooperstown in Otsego County. Expect up to 80 percent color change and average shades of yellow and orange along with splashes of red. In Chenango County, spotters in Norwich expect to be near peak with 70 percent color change and yellow, orange and red leaves of average brilliance. Schoharie County will be just past midpoint with 60-65 percent change and dull to average shades of orange predominating. Utica will be at midpoint with 60 percent color change and brightening shades of gold, bronze and amber highlighted with splashes of ruby red and burnt orange. Southern Herkimer County spotters reporting fromMohawk expect midpoint foliage change by the weekend with 50 percent transition and gold leaves predominating along with touches of red. Spotters in Madison County also expect 50 percent change with bright orange, yellow and red leaves dominating along scenic Rt. 20 in Cazenovia.
In the Finger Lakes region, spotters in Corning, Steuben County, report brilliant yellow and gold tones, along with shades of orange. Reds are dominant in the Hornell, Cohocton and Keuka Lake areas. Most of the northern portion of our county as well as Keuka Lake area will be near peak by this weekend, with up to 60 percent change, while the southern portion will be at the beginning to midpoint of change. In Chemung County spotters in Elmira expect 60 percent change with brightening shades of orange, red and yellow. Tioga County will be at midpoint of change with 60 percent transition and a mix of yellow, red, orange, brown and green leaves of average brilliance. In Monroe County, look for midpoint of leaf change with 40-45 percent color transition in the Rochester area, with more and more trees showing some level of fall color, although many still appear to be retaining some green. Tompkins County reporters in Ithaca expect 50 percent change and midpoint conditions with yellow, orange and red leaves of average brilliance.
Colors are still in the early stages in Livingston County. Geneseo spotters expect 25-30 percent color change with increasing amounts of vibrant golden, amber, and rust leaves. In Cayuga County, look for 30 percent change and gold, red and yellow leaves of average brilliance. Wayne County also expects 30 percent color change, with dull shades of yellow leaves. Onondaga County spotters reporting from Syracuse expect 25-30 percent change with average to bright yellow leaves along with touches of red and purple. Cortland County expects to be at 25 percent color change with touch of red and orange leaves of average brilliance. In Canandaigua, in Ontario County, expect 20 percent color change. Glorious oranges are emerging, as well as shades of gold. However, some leaves that would normally be effervescent are a mild rust color. Yates County expects 15 percent color change with dull shades of fall colors. Seneca County notes a very slow start to color change and predicts just 10 percent transition by weekend, with mostly green leaves predominating.
In the Chautauqua-Allegheny region, near peak foliage will arrive at Allegany State Park in Cattaraugus County this weekend with 70 percent color change and orange, yellow and some red leaves of average brilliance. In Little Valley, spotters predict a 70 percent change and near peak conditions with bright red, yellow, green and brown leaves. Chautauqua County spotters reporting from Chautauqua expect the foliage to be at midpoint of change with 50 percent transition and dull rust/brown leaves.
Peak leaves are expected in the Greater Niagara region in Wyoming County, where spotters in Perry predict 75 percent color change with bright red and orange leaves. Genesee County will be at midpoint of change with 60 percent leaf transition and bright orange and yellow leaves, along with some red and purple leaves. Niagara County is still in the early stages of color change. Spotters in Niagara Falls predict 25 percent color change this weekend along with some bright shades of yellow, orange and red. In Erie County, Buffalo leaf peepers expect 20-25 percent leaf change, while spotters inAlbion, in Orleans County, expect just 15 percent change with some gold leaves emerging.
In the Thousand Islands-Seaway region, up to 75 percent color change and near peak conditions are predicted forJefferson County. Spotters in Alexandria Bay note yellow and orange leaves of average brilliance. Foliage spotters in St. Lawrence County expect 45-55 percent color change. In the Adirondacks portion of the county, look for yellow, orange and some red leaves of dull to average brilliance. In the St. Lawrence River Valley, leaves still contain a lot of green leaves, along with shades of red and gold. Oswego County will see color changes ranging from 40 to 45 percent in the northern areas of the county and 25-30 percent in the southern region. In northern Oswego County areas such as Pulaski, Sandy Creek, and Altmar, oranges and reds color the forests with a landscape of average brilliance. Dull greens, rust and bronze tones continue to wash the southern areas of the county with a few pops of orange and red.
In the Hudson Valley, foliage will range from beginning to midpoint of change. Look for 50 percent transition in the New City area of Rockland County. Spotters are reporting bright purple, orange and red fall colors. Elsewhere in the county, spotters at Bear Mountain State Park in Bear Mountain expect 25 percent change with yellow, red and orange leaves of average brilliance. Foliage will be at midpoint of change in Orange County. Goshen spotters report average to bright yellow, pumpkin, lime and wine colored leaves, along with some patches of red. In Columbia County, 30-45 percent change is expected. Look for yellow and orange leaves, along with splashes of red. Dutchess County is expected to be between beginning and midpoint of change. Spotters in Poughkeepsie predict 30 percent change with yellow, gold and light orange leaves of average brilliance. Westchester County expects just 10 percent color change.
Color change will be around 10 percent on Long Island and 5 percent in New York City. Spotters based in Melville report orange, yellow and red leaves of average brilliance just beginning to emerge. In New York City, spotters reporting fromPelham Bay Park in The Bronx note emerging patches of red and yellow, along with brown edges on some of the leaves.
