This year, VTDigger is teaming up with Henry’s Weather Channel to help answer the annual question of when and where peak foliage will make its appearance across the state.
Each week, we’ll bring you an updated look at how foliage is unfolding statewide, paired with a weekend forecast, so you can plan your drive, hike or porch-sitting accordingly. Henry brings meteorological experience and on-the-ground reporting with photos and videos from across the region.
Take a look outside — foliage has arrived! It won’t last forever. Here’s how to take full advantage of one of Vermont’s most magical times of year.
Peak has hit the mountains, and it won’t last forever
The leaves are really changing across the state. The current foliage tracker as of Monday shows that moderate color is out across much of Vermont, with high color especially across the southern part of the state and at higher elevations.
The forecast through Oct. 5 shows big changes coming. Moderate color is expected across the state with high-color areas in the mountains. Foliage along Lake Champlain will be lagging a bit behind. Peak color is expected across the Stratton-Mount Snow area through the weekend and in the Northeast Kingdom. The area of peak foliage will likely expand through the end of next week to include much of Vermont.
Next weekend should be the last full weekend of peak color across the mountains before the leaves start to drop. Enjoy it while it’s here!
🍁 Know before you go this weekend: Get the statewide foliage and weekend weather outlook delivered to your inbox every Friday this fall, plus our daily Vermont news brief Monday through Saturday.
Sunshine and chance for first flakes
We’ve got a beautiful weekend ahead across Vermont. Plenty of sunshine is expected out there both Saturday and Sunday. High temperatures will be in the low 60s on Saturday and upper 50s across the higher elevations. Low temperatures Saturday night will drop into the high 30s to low 40s. That’s chilly for the first weekend of October.
High temperatures will be in the low 60s again Sunday with the higher elevations staying in the upper 50s. Lows Sunday night are a bit warmer than Saturday — low to mid-40s expected. I can’t rule out a quick passing shower on Sunday, but otherwise we see mostly sunny skies both Saturday and Sunday.
Calm winds are in the forecast for this weekend. A strong cold front is expected Monday night, with temperatures dropping into the upper 20s and low to mid-30s. Expect the same on Tuesday night. We might even see some snowflakes across northern Vermont on Tuesday morning.
Henry Swenson of Henry’s Weather Channel is a self-taught storm chaser, weather forecaster and drone videographer based in New England. He is known for his live storm coverage and tracking and has been delivering accurate weather forecasts to the region since 2017. For this partnership, Henry brings his mobile weather station and boots-on-the-ground approach to track fall foliage as it moves across the state.
