Connecticut residents and visitors can expect a typical, vibrant showing from the state’s changing leaves this fall.
“It’s a wonderful time of year,” said Christopher Martin, Connecticut’s state forester and director of forestry at the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
In a Tuesday interview, Martin said the dry end to summer shouldn’t negatively impact the foliage season because of ample rain in the spring growing season.
Martin predicts that “the show will start” in Connecticut’s northeast and northwest corners around mid-October.
“Right around Columbus Day, peak color occurs in the northeast and the northwest hills of Connecticut, and then it will progress through Central Connecticut the third, fourth week of October,” he said. “And then it wraps up in lower Fairfield County, along the coast, [and] the mouth of the Connecticut River about the first, second week of November.”
Martin said autumn is the perfect time for Nutmeggers to “take a pause and just be thankful about where we live and the beauty of it.”
In addition to appreciating the changing colors, Martin said fall also makes for a good time to assess forest health and check trees for invasive pests like the Asian long-horned beetle.
“If you were to come across a tree with a dime-sized hole in it, or, you know, some charismatic beetle that's jet black with white spots and blue feet, that should cause some curiosity and maybe a phone call to some professionals,” he said.
A map with a week-by-week forecast of foliage color progression can be found on DEEP’s website.
