Illinois’ Fall Colors Are Expected to be Awesome

We're about 9 days out from the start of Autumn, and according to those in-the-know, the fall foliage is going to get really pretty shortly afterwards.

The folks at SmokyMountains.com recently published their "2018 Fall Foliage Prediction Map," and they say, for the Rockford area, we should be hitting "peak" leaf color around the week of October 15th.

Some of SmokyMountains other thoughts on the Fall season:

• Settling in a little later than last year, the changing leaves are predicted to be better than ever this year. Since temperatures will be a bit warmer, you'll have more opportunities to go out an enjoy the fall leaves.
• Most of Illinois will begin to see some change in the leaves by the week of October 1, 2018. The entire state will definitely start to see the reds, yellows, and oranges the following week.
• The absolute best time to find yourself out in nature this fall will be the weeks of October 21-29, 2018 for the north half the state, while the south region will have an opportune moment to see the best colors in the weeks of October 29 through November 5, 2018.
• Leaves change colors because trees stop taking in chlorophyll around this time of year. Trees must hibernate for winter, and therefore, they slowly close off their leaves from nutrients until each one falls away. This keeps the tree from freezing to death through harsh temperatures.