Back to Air Quality Alerts
Foliage Update: Foliage Season Comes to a Muted End
November 16, 2025 at 12:43 PM EST
By WeatherBug Meteorologists, Alyssa Robinette and Andrew Rosenthal
As we race through the month of November, fall foliage season is coming to its conclusion. Many areas are at or past peak colors, although there are still some areas that could provide a good show.
Astronomically, the first day of fall was September 22, when the sun’s perpendicular rays crossed the equator. Each day is getting shorter, and this causes a chemical reaction in the leaves that leads to the color changing. As days become cooler and shorter, the trees’ ability to make chlorophyll, a pigment that keeps the leaves green, decreases and causes the leaves to become red, orange and purple.
The cold snap of the last week has largely (pardon the pun) frozen out the foliage season, with portions of the Mid-South and South skipping through the typical cycle of colors. Scattered areas of peak colors remain across the Mid-South, with leaves ready to fall from the Mid-Mississippi Valley to the Ozarks.
The best highway to get through the best color would probably be Interstate 40, which traverses Tennessee from Memphis to Knoxville, and will allow you a jumping-off point to get some great pictures.
It’s the same story in the East, where the chilly and windy weather of the past week brought foliage season to an end. Many trees as far south as Virginia are becoming bare, with muted peak colors in the warmer areas. Lower-elevation states like North and South Carolina and Georgia will still have some bright colors this weekend, so it’s not a total bummer.
The main highways of the South – Interstates 95 and 85 will be your best bet to get into some strong colors. Interstate 85 winds its way through the cities of North Carolina, while Interstate 95 hangs a bit closer to the coast.
Milder weather is expected this weekend, with the Southeast and Mid-South expected to see temperatures return to the 60s for the most part both days. That said, Saturday will be the warmer of the two across both the East and Mid-South as a cold front advances into the region.
We thank you for reading our fall foliage series over the last couple of months and hope that our suggestions helped to make the autumn conditions shine for you. Please check out other reports on the WeatherBug app, and use the app to keep an eye on weather conditions throughout the winter!
Astronomically, the first day of fall was September 22, when the sun’s perpendicular rays crossed the equator. Each day is getting shorter, and this causes a chemical reaction in the leaves that leads to the color changing. As days become cooler and shorter, the trees’ ability to make chlorophyll, a pigment that keeps the leaves green, decreases and causes the leaves to become red, orange and purple.
The cold snap of the last week has largely (pardon the pun) frozen out the foliage season, with portions of the Mid-South and South skipping through the typical cycle of colors. Scattered areas of peak colors remain across the Mid-South, with leaves ready to fall from the Mid-Mississippi Valley to the Ozarks.
The best highway to get through the best color would probably be Interstate 40, which traverses Tennessee from Memphis to Knoxville, and will allow you a jumping-off point to get some great pictures.
It’s the same story in the East, where the chilly and windy weather of the past week brought foliage season to an end. Many trees as far south as Virginia are becoming bare, with muted peak colors in the warmer areas. Lower-elevation states like North and South Carolina and Georgia will still have some bright colors this weekend, so it’s not a total bummer.
The main highways of the South – Interstates 95 and 85 will be your best bet to get into some strong colors. Interstate 85 winds its way through the cities of North Carolina, while Interstate 95 hangs a bit closer to the coast.
Milder weather is expected this weekend, with the Southeast and Mid-South expected to see temperatures return to the 60s for the most part both days. That said, Saturday will be the warmer of the two across both the East and Mid-South as a cold front advances into the region.
We thank you for reading our fall foliage series over the last couple of months and hope that our suggestions helped to make the autumn conditions shine for you. Please check out other reports on the WeatherBug app, and use the app to keep an eye on weather conditions throughout the winter!