COLORADO, USA — Autumn is one of the most beautiful times to live in Colorado.
Hillsides turn stunning shades of gold, orange and red. Sometimes it seems to happen almost overnight.
Leaves change color each fall when they stop photosynthesis so they can rest for the winter when there isn't enough sunlight. The green chlorophyll fades, leaving behind the others colors that had been hidden the rest of the year.
Typically, colors peak in Colorado's northern mountains throughout the month of September. The central mountains peak the last week of the month. For our southern mountains, it’s the first week of October.
The warm weather in Colorado has pushed back the start of the fall color season by a few days in 2024. The northern Colorado mountains will start seeing the first yellow aspens around Sept. 20.
See a map of the expected peaks from the 9NEWS Weather Impact Team below.
There's nothing like fall in Colorado, and we want to highlight your photos.
To submit a photo or video, share with the 9NEWS app's Near Me feature.
- Open the 9NEWS app on your smartphone.
- On the bottom right, you'll see a button called 'Near Me'—click it.
- Click the orange button in the top left part that says "Share with Us."
- Upload your photo or video directly from your device.
- Fill out the fields: give it a title, a credit, your email, and tell us where it was taken.
- It will then be reviewed and could be used on 9NEWS and 9NEWS.com.
