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Attention leaf-peepers! Fall foliage peaks over the next two weeks

(Copyright 2022 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)

Happy Monday and welcome to another edition of Beyond The Forecast!

One of the best things about living in this area is getting to see the vibrant fall foliage every year! The leaves have been slowly changing over the past few weeks and many of you are sharing the view of your backyards.

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Here’s how the foliage looks right now in Roanoke, courtesy of Deborah Stone. She submitted this photo via Pin It and it was featured on Virginia Today during our Picture of the Day segment.

(Copyright 2022 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)

Both myself and Meteorologist Chris Michaels have taken rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway over the last week and we concur, the foliage is getting close to its peak!

Here’s our latest foliage update: a collaboration between me, Chris, and our friends at thefoliagereport.com.

Foliage report as of Monday, 10/17/2022

As you can see, residents in the Highlands are enjoying peak foliage right now!

We expect the Roanoke and New River Valleys to reach their peaks next week. It will take Lynchburg and Southside a little longer to reach peak colors. If you live in one of those zones, you can look for peak foliage by Halloween.

As has been the case for much of October, we have prime foliage-producing weather on tap: the moisture from Sunday night’s rain, combined with sunshine this week and the usual fall temperature swings from morning to afternoon.

(Copyright 2022 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)

We are keeping a running gallery of foliage photos on Pin It. Feel free to submit yours!

If you want to take a driving tour of the fall foliage in your zone, we have details on which route to take from the Virginia Department of Forestry.

10 News’ Alyssa Rae spoke with a professor at Virginia Tech earlier this fall about why the foliage will be so eye-popping this year.

If you plan to get in the car and drive to see the leaves over the next few days, you’ll want the heat cranked up! Chris has a look at our upcoming cold snap in our daily forecast article.

You can always get specific forecast details for your zone, whether it’s the Roanoke Valley, Southside, the Highlands, or elsewhere around Southwest and Central Virginia, anytime at WSLS.com/weather. Know your zone!

In case you missed it, we’re posting great weather and science content on WSLS.com. Here are a few links from the past week to check out:

If you prefer your weather information delivered by social media, you can follow Your Local Weather Authority on Facebook and Twitter.

You can also keep up with me on social media. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, follow along!

– Justin McKee