Fall Color Is Here!

Originally published at 2:15 p.m. on October 8th

Updated at 10:32 a.m. on October 9th

(KNSI) – It’s here! Fall color has bloomed across central Minnesota this week.

Integrated Public Relations Supervisor Sara Berhow tells KNSI’s Bob Hughes it is a bit later than recent years but worth the wait. “Especially compared to last year, and even compared to 2022, we’re a little behind this year, and that’s likely because of the warm temperatures. The last half of September, a lot of places in Minnesota were 10 to 12 degrees above normal temperatures, so that is impacting our fall colors a bit.”

The map is rapidly changing. If you head southeast, it is still listed as 25-50% of peak by the agency’s Fall Color Finder service at Lake Maria State Park, but downtown St. Cloud and areas to the north are at 50-75% of peak with prime viewing as close as Mille Lacs County and Brainerd.

Berhow says even with the warmer weather, fall color has to appear in October due to the shortening days. “We can predict fall colors within about a two-week time span pretty easily. And the reason for that is that the number one driver of when the leaves change is reduced hours of daylight. That part is very predictable. It’s those variances within that two-week time period that can be based on temperature.”

Take a peep at the Fall Color Finder here.

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