Fall color change slower than usual this September in Minnesota
Warm fall weather slowing change
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It’s a long, lingering summer in Minnesota this September.
Other than our early chill during the first week, this month has been much warmer than normal for the past couple of weeks. Temperatures are running 5 to 15 degrees warmer than normal since Sept. 12.
The unseasonable warmth appears to be slowing our fall color change across Minnesota. Fall colors are running behind seasonal averages across our state.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fall color tracker reports that leaves in northern Minnesota are only about 25 to 50 percent of the way toward the annual fall color peak.
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Typically we would expect 50 to 75 percent color change in northern Minnesota with pockets near 100 percent color by this time of September.
The upper-air forecast this year strongly favors unseasonably warm weather well into early October.
It’s likely our fall color changes will continue to run later than average for the next week or two.
Typically, fall colors peak in northern Minnesota during the last days of September. In the Twin Cities, our peak fall color typically arrives in mid-October. If trends continue, we may enjoy a color show in the Twin Cities that lasts until close to Halloween.
Stay tuned.
