Fall colors in NC: Helene devastates mountains. What does that mean for leaf season?

Hurricane Helene's recovery efforts in the North Carolina mountains continue to grow as floodwaters recede, revealing the devastating damage left behind. Severe floodwaters have left many dead, many roads closed, families without running water or electricity and many trees down. 

2026-09-24 06:19:30

WRAL News has a guide to how to help our neighbors in the mountains. 

Due to the impacts of Hurricane Helene, WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said North Carolina’s mountain areas would likely not be ready for visitors until after the fall foliage season.

It is unclear when tourists will be able to return to the mountains. According to the state Department of Transportation, most roads in western North Carolina should be considered closed and people should avoid travel there unless it is absolutely necessary. 

Fall colors in NC and Hurricane Helene

Because of the extensive damage left behind in the NC mountains, Gardner advises people not to travel to the area.

Instead, Gardner suggests viewers visit the Blue Ridge Parkway along Western Virginia as an alternative, or they can travel to the New River National Park in West Virginia to see a beautiful fall leaf color change. 

Gardner said, by mid-to-late October, the fall leaf color should work its way down those mountain areas and into areas of lower elevation. 

ExploreFall, a website previously featured on WRAL, shows areas along the Virginia and West Virginia mountains beginning to see some change.

The Triangle area should begin to see more vivid fall color later in October, according to ExploreFall. 

How did Helene impact fall colors in NC?

The biggest impact Helene had on the leaves is the wind blowing leaves off the trees, according to Gardner.

"Any leaves that had already started to turn color in the highest elevations would’ve likely been stripped from the trees, but that would probably be 4,000 feet and higher," Gardner said. "So anywhere from around or just above Boone and lower elevations are still probably pretty green, and those leaves would still be intact."

Fall colors 2024: Why do leaves change color?

Leaves change color every year during the fall season.

According to Gardner, this can be narrowed down to two contributions: the loss of daylight and the temperature change.

During the fall, the sun is not as intense as in the spring and summer months, leading to leaves receiving less sunlight during the day.

“A loss of daylight signals the chlorophyll to fade,” Gardner said.

Chlorophyll gives leaves their green color. When that begins to fade, we start to see some of the underlying colors in the leaves.

“Some of them are yellow, some of them are red, depending on the tree,” she added.  

Cooler temperature also impacts the timing and brightness of fall leaf colors.

“The colder it is, the more chemical reaction you get that causes the leaves to be brighter,” Gardner said.

According to Gardner, warmer temperatures this year may impact fall color.

"One of the biggest issues so far this season has been warm temperatures," Gardner said. "The leaves don’t turn those nice bright colors until temperatures overnight drop down to freezing, and that hasn’t happened even in the highest elevations. It looks like starting next week, however, it does turn a bit colder and the leaves should turn prettier. Of course we want to encourage people to go up to Virginia and West Virginia to see that."