Best place in the U.S. for fall colors? AccuWeather says right here in northern Ohio 🍂

Forget New England.

The folks at AccuWeather say the best and "most vibrant" fall colors in the entire country could be in Greater Akron this year.

AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok said Wednesday that the best zone for fall colors will be in an area that stretches roughly along the Great Lakes.

"We are forecasting the best places to go are in the Midwest," Pastelok said. "The trees should have nice reds and oranges and that could extend all the way down to parts of the Ozarks and parts of southern Missouri.”

A wet summer and a rainy fall are expected to put a damper on the fall colors in New England.

AccuWeather says the peak of color should come in mid-October in northern Ohio.

Why will the leaves be so colorful in Greater Akron?

The weather is the key dictator on whether it will be a good season for vibrant colors.

Just how much rain falls or doesn't fall in the late spring and summer sets the stage for what's to come in the fall.

Severe drought like what's impacting extreme southern Ohio will create stress for trees and result in dull colors and a short season, Pastelok said. Adding too much rain is not good either.

"If there's a lot of rain in the late summer and early fall, you can get mold to develop on some of the trees and also invite lots of insects," he said.

Fall foliage: When will leaves start changing in Greater Akron and when will peak fall colors hit?

For good colors, there needs to be sunny days and cool nights − similar to the weather lately in Greater Akron − to enhance the breakdown of green chlorophyll in leaves that reveals the shades of orange, red and yellow.

Frost can be the enemy of the leaves as it ends the production of colorful pigments in the leaves and they die.

“Wind is a big problem. If you have too many windy events, you could see a lot of leaves knocked down early,” Pastelok said.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Best place in the U.S. for fall colors? AccuWeather says right here in northern Ohio 🍂