Halloween DealsAmazon USHalloween week deals: useful picks before month-endAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsWindows FixRecommendedWindows errors stealing your time? Find the fix fastScan stability, cleanup and performance issues.Fix NowHalloween DealsAmazon USOctober picks are moving - compare before checkoutAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.See Picks×
FREEDOM251

Freedom251 › Blog › fall foliage

Which Trees Near Me Are Turning This Weekend? How a Local Fall-Color Forecast Works

By Freedom251 Team · · 4 min read

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

For eight tree species in the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the experimental peakweek project estimates whether a tree encountered on a given day is likely to be green, showing fall color, or bare. It provides daily forecasts for the next 15 days and a printable summary for the coming weekend. Its probabilities can help you decide which day to look for color, but they are not a guarantee for an individual tree or a measure of how much of a landscape’s canopy has changed.

Which trees and places does the forecast cover?

The project covers red maple, sugar maple, sweetgum, northern red oak, American beech, black gum, sassafras, and Norway maple. Its stated geographic bounds are latitude 38.5–47.5 and longitude −80.5 to −66.9, covering parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. It does not forecast every tree species or locations outside that area.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The practical question is: if you encounter one of these species nearby this weekend, is it more likely to be green, colored, or bare—and which day might offer the best chance of seeing color? The forecast concerns the status of an encountered tree, not the percentage of a park, forest, or neighborhood canopy that has turned.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

How to use the weekend forecast

  1. Check whether your location falls within the project’s stated bounds and whether the tree you hope to see is one of the eight listed species.

    #1 Best Overall
    Elebase USB to USB C Adapter for iPhone 18 Pro Max,USBC Car Charger Adapter | 4Pack Type C Female to A Male Cable Converter for Apple Duo 17 16 15 14 Plus,iWatch Watch 12 11 10,iPad 9 8 Air,Airpods 5 4
    • Read Before You Buy — No Video Output: These adapters support charging and USB 2.0 data transfer, but cannot transmit video signals. Except for standard USB webcams (which use USB data only), they are not compatible with HDMI/DisplayPort cables, video-capable USB-C hubs, or docking stations with video output.
    • Convert USB-A Ports to USB-C: Designed to connect USB-C earphones, cables, flash drives, card readers, and other USB-C accessories to standard USB-A ports. Plug-and-play with no drivers or software required.
    • Aluminum Alloy Housing: Built with a sturdy aluminum alloy shell that aids in heat dissipation and protects against daily wear and scratches. Designed to maintain a stable and secure connection.
    • Compact & Travel-Friendly: The ultra-compact design allows the adapter to stay plugged into your device without blocking adjacent ports or adding bulk, reducing wear and tear on your original USB ports.
    • 12-Month Warranty: Backed by a 12-month manufacturer warranty for peace of mind. Designed to meet strict quality control standards for reliable everyday performance.
  2. Open the project’s weekend summary card to compare the predicted green, colored, and bare status across the coming weekend. The project also provides daily predictions for the next 15 days.

  3. Use the predictions as a guide to timing, not a promise about a particular tree. Local conditions and variation among individual trees mean a species-level probability may not match every tree you encounter.

What goes into the predictions?

According to project author Bowen Rui’s description, the model combines historical iNaturalist observations with this season’s weather and TabPFN v2. The author reports querying observations from September through November in 2018–2025. The API returned 10,877 observations; after filtering, 6,650 remained. The reported retained labels were 3,457 green, 2,846 colored, and 347 bare.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Rank #2
Anker USB-C Hub, 5-in-1 USB Hub for Laptops, 4K HDMI Multiport Adapter | USB C Dongle with 90W Max Power Delivery, 3×5Gbps USB A Data Ports, for MacBook, Dell, and More (Charger Not Included)
  • 5-in-1 USB-C Hub: Experience comprehensive connectivity featuring a Power Delivery input, two USB-A 2.0 ports, a USB-A 3.0 port, and an HDMI port. (Note: The USB-C power delivery input port is only for connecting an external wall charger to power your laptop and cannot power peripheral devices.)
  • 90W Pass-Through Charging: Achieve optimal charging with 90W pass-through power to your laptop, supported by a total input of 100W, with the hub reserving 10W for operational efficiency. (Note: Wall charger not included.)
  • Quick Data Transfers: Accelerate your productivity with rapid data transfers using a high-speed 5Gbps USB 3.0 port and two 480Mbps USB 2.0 ports.
  • 4K HDMI Display: Enhance your visual experience with a hub capable of delivering 4K resolution at 30Hz in both mirror and extend modes. Please note that this hub is compatible with MacBook (macOS 12 and newer), Windows 10 and 11, ChromeOS, and laptops equipped with DP Alt Mode and Power Delivery. Note: This device is not compatible with Linux.
  • What You Get: Anker USB-C Hub (5-in-1, 4K HDMI), welcome guide, 18-month warranty, and our friendly customer service.

The author says filtering excluded cultivated trees, casual-grade records, records with obscured or insufficiently precise coordinates, conflicting leaf annotations, observations without usable annotation, and records without open licenses. These counts describe the project’s dataset; they do not establish that observations are evenly distributed across species, places, or dates.

Inputs include species, latitude, longitude, elevation, day of year, and day length. Weather features include accumulated chilling degree days since September 1, frost and cold-night counts, recent minimum and mean temperatures, 30-day rainfall, and how current fall temperatures compare with other falls at the same location. The project says it uses the same ERA5 archive for historical weather and weather to date, and forecast weather for today and the following 14 days.

What the reported model evaluation says

The project author reports choosing model settings using 2024 validation data, then evaluating once on held-out 2025 observations. On that evaluation, TabPFN v2 with all features had an accuracy of 0.805, log loss of 0.498, and Brier score of 0.285. The author’s comparison reports:

Rank #3
Sale
Anker USB C Hub, 7in1 Multi-Port USB Adapter, 4K@60Hz USBC to HDMI Splitter | 85W Max PD, 2 USB 3.0 & 1 USBC Data Ports, SD/TF Card Reader, for Laptops/Mac and Other Type C Devices (Charger Not Included)
  • Sleek 7-in-1 USB-C Hub: Features an HDMI port, two USB-A 3.0 ports, and a USB-C data port, each providing 5Gbps transfer speeds. It also includes a USB-C PD input port for charging up to 100W and dual SD and TF card slots, all in a compact design.
  • Flawless 4K@60Hz Video with HDMI: Delivers exceptional clarity and smoothness with its 4K@60Hz HDMI port, making it ideal for high-definition presentations and entertainment. (Note: Only the HDMI port supports video projection; the USB-C port is for data transfer only.)
  • Double Up on Efficiency: The two USB-A 3.0 ports and a USB-C port support a fast 5Gbps data rate, significantly boosting your transfer speeds and improving productivity.
  • Fast and Reliable 85W Charging: Offers high-capacity, speedy charging for laptops up to 85W, so you spend less time tethered to an outlet and more time being productive.
  • What You Get: Anker USB-C Hub (7-in-1), welcome guide, 18-month warranty, and our friendly customer service.
Model 2025 accuracy 2025 log loss 2025 Brier score
TabPFN v2, all features 0.805 0.498 0.285
Gradient-boosted trees 0.802 0.505 0.291
Climatology 0.752 0.581 0.345

These are author-reported results, not an independent evaluation. The author reports that TabPFN improved log loss by 0.021 over the preselected baseline, while the gradient-boosted-tree result was close and not significantly different. Weather features improved log loss by 0.018 over a calendar-only TabPFN configuration on the 2025 test. The author characterizes the main benefit as better probability quality rather than a large gain in top-class accuracy.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Performance also varied by species in the project’s analysis: TabPFN led for red maple, sugar maple, and American beech, while simpler models did better for northern red oak, black gum, sweetgum, and sassafras. That variation argues against treating one overall score as equally informative for every species.

How much confidence should you place in the current-season check?

For the 2026 live pipeline, the author reports 99 filtered annotated observations from September 26 to October 5: 77 green and 22 colored. Reported log losses were 0.454 for TabPFN and 0.436 for logistic regression. The author says the sample is too small to rank the models confidently, so these early figures do not establish the forecast’s accuracy for the 2026 season.

Rank #4
Sale
UGREEN USB to USB C Adapter Combo 4-Pack, 10Gbps USB C Converter Space Gray | Data transfer & Fast charging for MacBook, iPhone 17/16/15, iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Apple Watch
  • Dual Converters, Infinite Potential:Includes 2× USB C male to USB A female adapters and 2× USB A male to USB C female adapters. Perfect for a wide range of uses—tablets with Bluetooth keyboards, expand USB ports on macbook, and more. Two different converters for all your daily needs
  • Next-Level 10Gbps & 3A Charging: No more slow 480Mbps, this usb to usb c adapter has a transfer speed of up to 10Gbps, allowing you to do more transferring in less time. This usb adapter fits both USB A and USB C charger, supporting up to 3A fast charging
  • Upgraded Exquisite Craftsmanship: With an aluminum alloy housing and metal connector, the usbc to usb adapter is extremely durable and sturdy. Rigorously tested to withstand more than 10,000 times of plugging and unplugging, ensuring long-lasting performance
  • Broad Compatible: The usb c to usb adapter widely supports all USB C/ USB A devices like laptops, tablets, cellphones, car chargers, and phone chargers. Such as compatible with MacBook Pro/Air 2023/2022, Thunderbolt 4/3 Devices,Apple MagSafe Watch 9/8/7/SE/Ultra, iPad Pro 2022/2021, Samsung Galaxy S23/S20/S10, and iPhone 17/16/15 Pro. Plug and play
  • Please Note: To reach 10Gbps speed, keep the cable under 3.3 ft. For USB A Male to USB C adapters, try flipping the USB C connector. USB C Male to USB A adapters support bidirectional 10Gbps transfer within 3.3 ft

How this project fits into plant-phenology forecasting

Forecasting seasonal plant events is not new. A 2020 Ecological Applications paper describes an automated system covering 78 US species and forecasting events such as budburst, flowering, ripe fruit, and fall color up to six months ahead, with updates every four days. That broader system provides context, not a head-to-head performance comparison: the two efforts differ in coverage, horizon, and design.

Long-term observations also show why a single rule about temperature and fall color can mislead. A Harvard Forest study using observations from 1993–2010 examined eight species and found that autumn-color timing and amount were associated with temperature and precipitation at particular times of year, with responses differing by species and phenophase. In that study’s analysis, warmer autumn temperatures were associated with later full display and leaf fall in red maple. This is not a universal direction of change for all trees or locations.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

What the forecast can—and cannot—tell you

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

fall foliageiNaturalistphenologytree identificationweather forecasting

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?Free driver scan
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They SpreadFree repair scan

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.