Fall color alert: Ohio Department Natural Resources says leaves 'changing' all over Ohio

Peeper season has officially arrived.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says leaves all across the state are beginning to show fall color.

The agency regularly checks the progress of fall foliage at state parks and forests.

There is a small pocket in eastern Ohio where leaves are already considered to be near peak.

The weather plays a big factor in determining when the leaves change and how vibrant they are each fall.

The area where the leaves are showing near peak first had a pretty parched summer.

Is there still a drought in Ohio?

The latest drought map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows much of Ohio is still suffering a drought.

Persistent rain thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Helene a week ago has helped, but some 85% of the state is still being impacted by the drought.

Pretty much the only drought-free areas in Ohio are in northern Ohio.

The hardest hit drought areas are in southern and eastern Ohio, where extreme and exceptional drought conditions persist.

The rain did help Northeast Ohio where all of Summit County is no longer considered to be in a drought.

Portions of Medina, Wayne, Portage and Stark counties are still considered to be parched.

What are the first leaves in northern Ohio to turn?

Varieties like the red maples and sugar maples are usually the first to show some color in northern Ohio, followed by the hickory and oaks.

Another factor, experts say, is whether a tree is under stress and if that is the case, it will shed its leaves first.

And there's a lot of science behind just how vibrant or drab a tree's leaf will be. These factors range from soil to weather to the tree's genetic makeup.

A big trigger for when many of the leaves change is mild temperatures during the day and chilly temperatures at night.

How long the leaves stick around depends on a lot of things too from frosts and freezes to wind and rain.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Fall color alert: Ohio Department Natural Resources says leaves 'changing' all over Ohio