Labor Day is over, which means it’s officially unofficially fall. While those of us who have already committed to bravely chugging pumpkin spice lattes and sweating through flannel for the last three weeks of summer may be jumping the gun slightly, the leaves actually aren’t too far behind. Even if it isn’t technically fall yet outside of the overflowing Halloween candy aisle at CVS, nature will be taking its cue soon, which means it’s time to watch some leaves die.
Also known as leaf-peeping, delighting in the death of the leaves as winter approaches is one of the great American pastimes. With summer vacations wrapping up, people ready to plan their next trip may be looking to follow some fall foliage across the country. However, unlike last week’s shift to pumpkin-spice everything at Starbucks locations across America, the leaves don’t operate on quite as strict a schedule, with some regions experiencing different levels of foliage at various points throughout the season.
Enter the 2019 Fall Foliage Prediction Map, an interactive tool available on SmokeyMountains.com that helps hopeful leaf-peepers track the foliage progression in their desired area. Featuring a map of the United States and a draggable timeline, the prediction tool lets users see when and where they can observe optimal foliage this fall.
“We believe this interactive tool will enable travelers to take more meaningful fall vacations, capture beautiful fall photos and enjoy the natural beauty of autumn,” said data scientist and SmokyMountains.com chief technology officer Wes Melton in a statement, according to the Washington Post.
However, the map obviously isn’t an exact science, and the site warns users that nature won’t necessarily follow the map’s predictions to a T.
“While no tool can be 100 percent accurate,” says the site, “this tool is meant to help travelers better time their trips to have the best opportunity of catching peak color each year.”
Summer’s over and now all we have to look forward to is watching leaves die a slow and colorful death. Happy fall!
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