Vivid shades of gold, orange, crimson: When will the leaves change?

We ae just a few days away from the first day of fall and that has many people thinking about fall foliage and the spectacular colors.

The Smoky Mountains website shared a map of the United States offering a best guess guide to when the trees wlll turn vivid shades of gold, orange, and crimson.

Central Carolina's peak colors appear to be around October 24th, but heavy rain caused by tropical systems could impact the exact timeline.

Across the country leaves are slowly starting to change and it won't be long until tree canopies fill with a beautiful mix of color.

For best conditions, for vibrate fall foliage, Accuweather's long range expert Paul Pastelok says you need two things; a healthy amount of moisture in the summer, and a relatively dry start to fall.

For this reason Pastelok says the best colors this season will be in the interior northeast.

"Upstate New York York, parts of New England may end up getting some rain here late in the summer which benefited as far as the stress on the trees. And so, they should have a pretty good fall foliage, especially with some drier weather coming from time to time," Pastelok said.

He said conditions in the upper Midwest, Great Lakes region, and Ohio Valley could also be good for foliage this season with one concern.

While much of the West fall foliage season is forecasted to be dull to normal due to long term drought, Pastelok says there are some areas that are looking good.

"Parts of Colorado, Wyoming, they have had some rain from time to time through the course of the summer. Yes, it's been dry at some times as well. So, kind of a mix. The trees are not as stressed as they are further south and west," Pastelok added.

There are plenty of good opportunities for leaf peeping if you do your homework. For more information on Accuweather's fall foliage forecast visit there website here.