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(Undated) -- Peak color for fall foliage in Iowa is usually in October, but this year drought could change the schedule.
Iowa DNR Urban Forester Emma Hanigan says the dry conditions could lead to an earlier fall color show, especially in cities because there are other stressors such as soil compaction or limited root space. She says the fall color show could also be shorter than normal this year.
She says the most brilliant fall colors occur when there are long sunny days and cool overnight lows. She says that signals to the tree that its time to shut down they stop producing chlorophyll which leads to the end of the growing season. Frost and freeze conditions or heavy rain could also cut the fall color season short.
Normally the peak season for northern Iowa is the first week in October, the peak for central Iowa is mid-October, and the peak fall colors generally occur in southern Iowa in the last week of October.