Fall color report #7 Peak color arrives in Southern Iowa!

Fall color in a public area near Downtown Des Moines October 23rd 2014

We have reached peak color here in Des Moines! Color is at its highest and and is not expected to get brighter here in southern Iowa. Even interesting to note, even though we have reached peak there is still a descent amount of green in some areas. About 90% of trees have turned color here in Des Moines. This year has been a great year for colors as they have been outstanding. Oaks are beautiful shades of orange, burgundy and yellow. Maples are orange, yellow and red. Hickory trees are golden yellow, Ginkgo trees are gold, and burning bushes and sumac are the most intense red at this time. It's a great time to view fall colors so make sure you get out there! This will be the last weekend for best viewing! Warm temperatures ahead will likely quickly expire the best colors. Don't forget about Iowas native prairie areas! Prairie are their most beautiful in fall when grasses turn in their fall colors. I drove past some over the past couple days and they are just outstanding right now!

Fall color report #7

The regional map reviles that the northern part of Iowa is now past peak and the best colors have faded. The rest of the start, including southern and parts of central Iowa are at peak now and should be enjoyed! Friends in Northern Missouri, Kansas and Southern Illinois should be prepared to be next in line for peak fall color, as they will be there next week. I expect because of the warmth ahead, most of Iowa will be past peak by mid to end of the week next week.

Fall color report #6 Color is peaking or high across all of Iowa. Now is the time to enjoy!

Fall colors in Sugar maple next to Hyvee in Ankeny, IA October 19th

Fall color continues to progress very fast here in southern Iowa. Color is now abundant and beautiful in all trees species. Maples are turning beautiful shades of burgundy, fire red,orange and yellow. Silvers maples and Hickories are turning golden yellow. Oaks are turning yellow and red. 63rd street between West Des Moines and Norwalk is especially beautiful right now. Looking at the entire tree canopy shows color is high and painted with beautiful colors, and it looks great with the Des Moines city skyline! I would rate Des Moines at High Color with 80% of trees now turned colors. Peak fall color should happen by the end of this upcoming week. Now is the time to see colors in this part of Iowa so get out and enjoy!

Fall color report #5

Now the entire state of Iowa is either in high or peak color. Fall color is now at its peak roughly north of Highway 20. Spencer is still holding only peak color, but I've heard that trees are loosing leaves quite fast in the northern part of the state. South of 20 high color is being found and it is great for viewing. I expect the northern part of Iowa will be past peak by the end of next week and the remainder of the start will reach its peak in the next few days to the end of this week. Be sure to get out and enjoy these beautiful colors!

Fall Color Report #5 Color is high in the north. Also what were the highs seen on this beautiful day?

Fall color in Red Maple/Silver maple cross October 16th 2014

Fall colors are continuing to progress quickly this week across the area. I would put Des Moines now at Moderate Color with 50% of the trees now showing at least some color. Now every city street has at least some color showing in some trees. Streets with Maples, Hackberries or Ash are beautiful and showing lots of color. Burning bushes are also beautiful shades of fire red right now. Sugar Maples are especially beautiful at this time showing shades of orange red yellow and green on one tree. One spot in particular is on the east side of Des Moines in one of the neighborhoods off 235 where there are several established Sugar Maples turning. Looking at the entire tree canopy now shows dotted trees turning colors or orange, yellow and red. However even with all this there is still a large percentage of mid to late turning trees such as Oaks, Poplars and Basswoods which are still very green. Now through the next week and a half is the time to see beautiful colors in the Des Moines area and Southern Iowa.

Fall color report #5

The fall color map now shows the northern part of Iowa has reached peak  or has high color. Now is the time to view fall colors in such places as Decorah, Spencer, Mason City and Waterloo, as colors are high and as bright as they are going to be, so if in this area get out and enjoy! The rest of the state has now progressed to moderate color. Colors have actually started to come in so fast that in some areas fall colors have went right to high color category just in the last few days. Recent frosts have helped triggered the progression of colors. If everything continues as scheduled the rest of the state should start to reach high or peak color next week or the last week of October.

Today would have been a beautiful day for viewing the fall foliage as highs were in the low to mid 70s statewide. It certainly felt like a summers day in the middle of October! Below is a list of highs reached in southern central Iowa

Des Moines-Fairmount Park 76.F
Des Moines International Airport 76.F
 Perry 76.F
 Norwalk 76.F
Ankeny 75.F
Ames 75.F
 Indianola 75.F
Pella 74.F
Boone 73.F
Knoxville 73.F
Newton 73.F
Marshalltown 72.F

Fall color report #4 Cooler weather leads to increasing color change, especially in the north.

Beautiful Sugar Maple near Downtown last week

Fall color this week has picked up significantly now that cooler weather has made its way back into the picture. Sugar and Red Maples are starting to have an abundance of color. Soon those will be peaking. I've also seen Silver Maple just now starting to join the show turning yellow, Hackberry is also turning yellow. An Oak or two is starting to turn as well. In areas with early to mid changing trees, color is bright and abundant, but there are still large areas of green and even trees turning are not at their brightest yet. Ash trees have lost most of their leaves now and have past peak. Over all I would say here in Des Moines we have Low Color 40% which is a significant increase from last week. We will soon be reaching the moderate color category. I expect that will happen by the middle to end of this week.

Fall color report #4

The fall color report reflects the change in colors across the region. Moderate color has drifted into many parts of Northern Iowa including Mason City and Waterloo. I've seen photos of fall color from Northeast Iowa lately that has been very nice. If your in northern Iowa now through the next 2 weeks would be the time to start enjoying those colors! In the rest of the state low color remains but even this part of the state will soon be joining the northern part of the state, by this time northern Iowa should have an abundance of color. Peak fall colors can be expected to be moving into parts of the state by as early as next week so leafers in the north be prepared!

Fall color report #3 New modern map realeased! Moderate color far NW, Low color everywhere else.

Trees near the highway 5 bypass Des Moines metro October 7th 2014

Fall color this week here in Des Moines is pretty much exactly where we were last week. We virtually made no progression in fall colors with the exception that I've seen a few more sugar maples turning orange and red. Over all I rate Low color for Des Moines with only 20% of trees showing color. that have turned last week are quickly loosing leaves and even becoming bare. Bottomland trees such as Cottonwood and willows are just loosing leaves without even turning a color. Overall though when I look across the entire tree canopy I am amazed and how much is still green, even still looking summer-like in most areas. It will probably be towards the end of October that we peak in this part of Iowa.

 Fall color report #3

This is a brand new map I am releasing with the help of the Iowa Weather Network group I'm a part of. Thanks to Henry L. for making it. As for the Iowa fall color report. All cities are reporting low color and showing no change. This all true with the exception of Spencer, which is now reporting moderate color. The state fall color report says fall color is most brilliant near the Minnesota border on the northwest side of the state. One thing I am noticing though is that more brilliant color is slowing moving southward from the north. I expect that more color will begin to show up in northern Iowa in the next 7 days and should show up here on my next report next week. Cooler nights will trigger better colors.