Fall on the way as leaves begin to change color

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – As Labor Day has come and passed, that means one thing in the Mountain State: Autumn is knocking on our door.

Fall begins in less than two weeks in north-central West Virginia.

The Autumnal Equinox occurs this year on September 22, 2021 at 3:21 p.m. This usually ushers in cooler temperatures, and in time, the leaves changing their colors.

In some spots across north-central West Virginia down into Monongahela National Forest are already reporting some leaves’ changing colors.

Minimal colors are being reported along and east of I-79, but mainly into the foothills and mountains where some patchy colors have been spotted in the mountains of Tucker, Randolph, and Pocahontas counties.

In order for the vibrant colors to come out, the leaves need “a succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring out the most spectacular color displays,” according to the National Forest Service. This will occur as the calendar turns later and the temperatures turn colder.

The peak oranges, yellows, and reds are expected to start coming out in the first few days of October into the higher elevations, with more peaks into the latter half of October heading west to the I-79 corridor.

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