New England's fall foliage still worth the trip, despite dull expectations

It's autumn in New England, the time of year when people travel from near and far to see the changing colors of the region's foliage. But this year's wet summer means those colors will likely be less vibrant than usual.

WBUR's Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy spoke with meteorologist and fall foliage expert for Yankee magazine, Jim Salge, about what people can expect for the 2023 leaf-peeping season.

Highlights from this interview have been lightly edited for clarity.

On why the rainy summer could mean less vibrant fall colors in many places:

"There's two reasons why more rain affects leaf colors: First off, we've seen a lot of fungus on the leaves this year, especially on our sugar maples. This is causing some of them to drop their leaves early after turning brown.

"The other is it's just been so wet that the saps and the sugars are not all that concentrated in the leaves. Those sugars are what create vibrant red colors. For those reasons, the trees will likely give off more pastel or muted colors this year."

On when he predicts the fall colors to peak in New England: 

"Usually the Indigenous Peoples’/Columbus Day three-day weekend is when the brightest colors are hitting the largest part of northern New England. However, you have about five to six weeks for peak color to go all the way from the northern mountains to the southern coasts. Typically, around Boston, we'll see the colors peaking in late October, even early November on Boston Common."

On his predictions for the brightest fall colors in the region: 

"We thought the Down East region of Maine was going to have some really good colors this year. They didn't get all of the rainfall this summer, but unfortunately they got the tail end of Hurricane Lee a couple weeks ago that kept things warm and wet.

"At this point, it's really just a battle between how fast the warm days and crisp, cool nights of fall can come in to really kick start these colors. There’ll be great colors everywhere, but there's also going to be some more muted and brown colors, too."

On where to expect the brightest colors in the Greater Boston area: 

"The Blue Hills are in a pretty good position this year, although there is some fungus amongst the trees there. But really, you can expect great color in Boston itself. Especially along the Esplanade because there are so many non-native trees there that don’t typically react to the same kind of stresses as trees in the northern forests."

On how wet weather brought on by climate change may affect New England’s fall colors for years to come:

"We have been alternating between drought and rain deluge for the last four years, and neither of those conditions are ideal for our trees. We're hoping that the pendulum sticks in the middle one of these years so we can kind of reset. Certainly more extreme weather is something that we're worried about in the northern forest, especially with warmer weather.

"Sugar maples don't extend much further south than New England. The red oak doesn't extend too much more north than New England. We have to think about the balance between these trees in a changing climate."

On whether he thinks this season’s duller colors will impact the amount of tourism dollars the region brings in:

"I hope that people still go into northern New England in the next couple weeks. They really need those tourism dollars. Vermont especially, after the floods. There are going to be some beautiful areas for fall color. It's a good year to explore new places, because they all have different microclimates that bring unique colors to the region. And when you find a beautiful area, it’s just going to pop that much more."

On where he will personally be looking for fall colors in the coming days and weeks:

"I'm going to be headed to the western White Mountains for the long weekend. Then over the coming weeks, I'm going to try to follow the peak wave. Acadia is going to peak around October 20th. Then I'll head down to maybe the North Shore in the last weeks of October."