2019 Fall Color: The Best Time To See Fall Color In The Chicago Area
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Labor Day has come and gone, kids are back in school, and pumpkin spice everything is on sale. But with recent warm weather, it doesn't quite feel like fall yet. And another thing: There's very little fall foliage.
Fall color will reach its peak in the Chicago area around the second week of October, according the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Colors are beginning to show in the McHenry and Lake county areas. According to the DNR, successive cool nights last week have caused silver maple and red maple to start to show a bit of red and orange, but everything else is still green at this point.
In Will County the black walnuts have started to turn in several areas with early leaf color being yellow. Some hackberry trees are starting to turn as well.
Chokecherry in the woods began yellowing about a week ago but haven't dropped leaves yet, and Sassafras is looking ready to begin its color change, according to the DNR's Fall Color Report.
When is the best time to see fall color?
The DNR estimates this year it will be the second week in October.
Ed Hedborn, manager of plant records at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, says that is the average time of year to see peak fall color in our area.
He said it is very difficult to predict the best fall foliage dates in advance, but the main trigger for leaves to begin to change is decreasing daylight. For the best, brightest colors, trees also need bright, sunny days and cold but not freezing nights. Therefore, the vibrancy and length of peak color is very dependent on the weather.
Hedborn said after the wet spring this year, a dry summer left the soil so dry "it's like a brick of concrete." This causes the water to run off and not be available to the trees for the production of color and could result in less vibrant colors.
Such stress on trees can cause color to come out even earlier, he said. For example, trees in the Morton Arboretum parking lot are changing color much earlier than others due to stresses like, heat coming up from the pavement and cars and restricted root systems. Those trees may not show color as brightly as trees in a better environment.
For similar reasons, trees in urban areas like Chicago also show color earlier.
Fall color also begins in the north and moves south, Hedborn explained.
"If you really want fall color, take a road trip," he said.
Areas in upper Wisconsin will see the change first, and it will be in our area by around the second week in October. Central Illinois is about a week behind and southern Illinois will see the change in the last week of October.
What causes the leaves to change?
When decreasing daylight, bright, sunny days and cold but not freezing nights come together, the trees change the chemicals they are making, Hedborn said.
Plants are constantly making and breaking down chemicals, such as chlorophyll, which captures red and reflects green light, giving leaves their green hue.
When the weather starts to change, the plant doesn't make as much chlorophyll, so the green pigment fades, unmasking yellows that were hidden there all along.
Other trees use a different process to create red pigments. Sugar Maypoles, for example, create a pigment called anthocyanin, which makes the red hue. Depending on how much it makes, it could create oranges or bright red. If it doesn't make enough, the leaf will lose its green color and unmask the hidden yellow like some other trees.
"Every year is different in how fall color expresses itself," Hedborn said. "Just get out and enjoy what nature is presenting us this year. You could take the same walk next year, and it could be completely different.
What are the best places to see fall color?
Hedborn recommends the Morton Arboretum in Lisle to see an "expanded color palette" of trees and plants from around the world on 1700 acres of land.
Nearby suggestions in the Illinois Fall Color Report include Starved Rock State Park, the Forest Preserves of Winnebago County and Millennium Park in Chicago.
