(NEXSTAR) — It’s that time of year again. Football is back, it’s almost time for sweater weather, and pumpkin-flavored drinks and treats are being sold everywhere you look.
But the one thing missing is those beautiful colors in the trees when the leaves start changing and, well you know, falling.
While states up north are slowly starting to see those pretty red, orange, and yellow leaves, Texans are forced to wait. So when exactly will Texas see the leaves begin to change?
A foliage map from SmokyMountains.com seems to have that answer. The website releases a map every year that shows when areas across the country will start seeing leaves change colors, when the “peak” time to see colors in that area is, and when it is past the “peak” and the leaves have mostly likely fallen to the ground.
They do this by looking at historical temperature and precipitation data, forecasted temperature and precipitation, the types of trees known to be in the area, and user-reported information.
You can see SmokyMountains.com’s full interactive map below:
According to the map, Texas is currently not seeing any widespread fall foliage at all and probably won’t be expected to see much change for a couple of weeks. In fact, the entire state of Texas most likely won’t see vibrant colors until the end of October.
The best time to see colors in Western Texas and the Panhandle is expected to be the week of Nov. 4, while the central part of the state will have to wait at least another week until around Nov. 11, and Southeastern Texas should start to see the leaves change around Nov. 18.
What causes the leaves to change colors?
The U.S. Forest Service states that the largest reason for leaves changing colors is sugars stored by trees. There are three different types of sugars in particular that cause this: carotenoids, anthocyanin, and chlorophyll.
Each sugar produces different colors for the leaves that grow on every tree. Carotenoids produce yellow, orange, and brown colors, anthocyanin produces more of a reddish color, and chlorophyll produces the standard green color.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, both chlorophyll and carotenoids are present in the leaf cells throughout the growing season, while anthocyanins are produced during the fall season.
During the growing season, chlorophyll is continually being produced and broken down and leaves appear green. As night length increases in the fall season, chlorophyll production slows down and then stops, and eventually, all the chlorophyll is destroyed. The carotenoids and anthocyanin that are present in the leaf are then unmasked and cause the leaves to change colors.