The idea for the Fall Foliage Map began when Fisher started to learn more about geographic information systems (GIS), mapping, and data analytics.
“One of the first random projects I thought up was to take pre-made 2D fall foliage maps that displayed average timing of peak color and overlay them onto a 3D surface. So that 3D surface was really a valuable visual for helping people understand the variation in timing.”
Fisher was inspired to launch the map via ExploreFall after seeing a need for more detailed, high resolution foliage maps. Typical foliage maps show changes at a county level, but in the mountains each county can include a variety of climates. So instead, Fisher’s map observes and forecasts fall foliage at 2.5 kilometer resolution, for a total of more than two million locations across the country.
“The goal is to improve accuracy, help more people find really good fall color, and learn more about the science of fall foliage, and how exactly the weather plays into that using statistical methods,” Fisher said.
The map shows the current, observed fall color anywhere in the lower 48, categorized by amount — little to no color, low, moderate, high, peak and past peak color — as well as a 10-day forecast for upcoming color.