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Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome)

6,643 ft 60 min from GatlinburgCrowd level 5/5

The highest point in the Smokies and the first place color arrives. Spruce-fir forest means the show here is golden birch and scarlet mountain ash berries against dark evergreen, with 100-mile views on clear mornings.

Color today · Aug 25

0/100

Still green

Canopy is summer green with only scattered early turners.

Predicted peak

Oct 4

Window Sep 30 – Oct 9

Historical median

Oct 4

-0.1 day weather shift

Peak probability today

0%

74% model confidence

Expected vibrancy

68/100

1 cold nights, 0 frosts logged

This location vs. its own normal year

Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome) is running on schedule compared with its own ten-year day-by-day climate record from the ERA5-Land reanalysis, downscaled to this elevation.

Timing shift
-0.1d

Peak pulled earlier

Daytime temperature
-2.5°F

Cooler than normal here

Rainfall
73% of normal

4.7 in observed · 6.4 in typical

Cold nights logged
1

Nights below 45°F · air dryness 0.39 kPa

How far to trust this

Moderate evidence

Forecast-grade through Sep 8. After that the curve is this location's historical average, not a prediction of this year's weather.

  • Numerical weather forecast through Sep 8
  • Current official drought classification
  • Timing corrected against 15 scored past seasons

Leaf-drop risk

Next 14 days

No warnings or leaf-stripping weather in the window. Color that arrives should hold.

Aug 25Sep 7

Next three weeks here

0

Aug 25

0

Aug 26

1

Aug 27

1

Aug 28

1

Aug 29

1

Aug 30

1

Aug 31

1

Sep 1

2

Sep 2

2

Sep 3

3

Sep 4

3

Sep 5

4

Sep 6

5

Sep 7

5

Sep 8

7

Sep 9

8

Sep 10

9

Sep 11

11

Sep 12

13

Sep 13

16

Sep 14

Peak dates, recent years

How this year's prediction compares with observed peaks here.

  • 2019
    Oct 6
  • 2020
    Oct 2
  • 2021
    Oct 8
  • 2022
    Oct 3
  • 2023
    Oct 9
  • 2024
    Oct 5
  • 2025
    Oct 2
  • 2026
    Oct 4

What turns here

  • Mountain ash
  • Yellow birch
  • American beech
  • Fraser fir (evergreen)

Weather notes

  • The fall season has not started yet, so timing is on the historical baseline. Weather adjustments begin once September observations accumulate.
  • Past seasons scored here ran 0.1 days earlier than the model expected, so that correction is applied.

Plan around it

Green

Scenic drive

Clingmans Dome Road

7 miles of ridge-top driving off Newfound Gap with pull-offs looking down on color below.

Hike

Observation tower spur

Half-mile paved climb, steep, delivers a 360° view over every elevation band at once.

Hike

Andrews Bald

3.6 miles round trip to a grassy bald ringed with early-turning hardwoods.

Photography

Sunrise from the tower ramp

Fog fills the valleys below while the ridge line lights up - arrive 45 minutes before sunrise.

Overlook

Forney Ridge parking pull-offs

Fewer people than the tower, same descending-color perspective.

Plan a trip around thisAlert me before peak here