NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The fall season starts next week and the leaves have already started to change in parts of the United States!

According to The Foliage Report, locations in the northwest, the Rockies, the northern plains, the Midwest, and New England are seeing low to moderate color.

Kyle Cotner, the owner of The Foliage Report, said this color is a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. He said the cool temperatures that impacted most of the country in early September caused the trees to change color early up north.

He said here in Tennessee, we can expect to see peak colors about when we normally do.

"Speaking of Tennessee and the surrounding states, such as Kentucky, it's going to be pretty on target from previous years. What that looks like, if you go to Eastern Tennessee towards the Smokies, that's normally late October, is what we are looking at right now for peak color. For Nashville, it's going to be early November or the second week of November," Cotner told News 2.

Cotner said the wet spring and summer will help our colors be bright and vibrant, and he said he doesn't think the recent drought conditions are severe enough to cause widespread leaf drop early.

"The good thing is, because you had a very wet spring and summer, those trees are holding onto a lot of moisture from the previous months of a lot of rainfall," said Cotner.

The Foliage Report is a map that is updated every week during the fall. Cotner said there's a ton of data that is used to make the map.

"A lot goes into making the map. So what I do is I aggregate every single source that I can find and I put it all together to make these easy, viewable maps," Cotner said.

His sources include information from spotters, state leaf data, and even searching social media. Cotner said he's been doing this for the last 18 years!

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/tn-fall-foliage-2025/