Have We Already Seen Peak Fall Colors in West Michigan?

Enjoy it while it lasts!

Each season we look forward to a dazzling display of vibrant fall colors as the leaves begin to change throughout The Mitten. However, the timing of when we get to see these colors at their brightest varies from season to season.

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Now that the Upper Peninsula has seen their first snowfall the writing is on the wall for us trolls down here in Southwest Michigan. Does that mean that's already a wrap on the 2023 fall color season?

It was toward the end of August that I noticed the first leaves starting to change color in the Kalamazoo area. Fall color predictions for Southwest Michigan originally called for peak colors during the week of October 16-21, so is that still the case?

According to News Channel 3 here in Kalamazoo-- no!

What's the Hold Up?

WWMT's newest Meteorologist Collin Rogers say West Michigan typically experiences peak fall colors during the first few weeks of October, but this year the colors are running a little behind schedule for several reasons:

1) A warm start to fall. Remember, we started October with 80 degree days! Warm weather slows down the color changing process.

2) Cloudy skies. Rogers explains, "Sunny days help to speed up the changing of leaves in the fall. This leads to an abundance of sugar in the leaves, which causes more reddish pigments to be produced."

When to Expect Them:

The staff at News Channel 3 now expect peak fall colors to arrive in West Michigan sometime between the last week of October into early November.

Which honestly, I'm enjoying the current colors and I don't mind that peak colors delayed; it gives us something to still look forward to! Because you know what happens once peak fall colors arrive, right?

Once they're gone it's all downhill from here...