2.5 Weeks and Counting

With only two and a half weeks until the first day of autumn, California Fall Color is now online with weekly reports.

We welcome the participation of  volunteer color spotters.  It’s easy to do… just email us the color you see in your area (submit a comment with your email address and we’ll reply and add you to our confidential list of fall color spotters).  If you would like your photos to appear here, email your best shots as 300 dpi .jpg images with permission to publish them or forward them to media.  Your shot could appear on a major television station or newspaper, with credit to you.

If you look back at our blogs, you’ll see how  we describe color.  We report the percentage of change along with other aspects such as: the types of trees changing, colors seen, effect of recent weather on color change, and so forth.  Here’s our rating scale:

  • 0 – 15% means that none to only a few of the trees in a given forest begun to change color.  (Too early)
  • 15 – 30% says that no more than a third of the trees have begun to change color… the forest  is mostly green with lime green to yellow or reds  just beginning to show. (Too early, though getting there)
  • 30 – 50% indicates that nearly half the forest is showing color in the area reported.  There’s mostly green, though half the forest is showing lime,  yellow, orange and red.  (There’s still more to come)
  • 50 – 75% is approaching peak with only a quarter of the forest still green and the rest in stages between lime and full color. (Go Now)
  • 75% – 100% is at full peak with very little green or lime and mostly yellow, orange, gold, red and auburn. (Go Now)
  • Past Peak means the color has peaked and now leaves have dropped or are dropping.  Wind can transition a peaking forest to past peak, quickly.
So, send us your fall color reports and visit often to see what’s happening and where it’s happening in California.