The trees put on a display of color, showing off the fall foliage of their leaves at the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa.

It’s late October, and just like that, leaves and trees in at least half of the nation have reached their peak fall colors, dazzling onlookers with shades of yellow, orange, red and purple.

The coloring comes from trees storing chlorophyll. This chemical gives leaves their green color, and when it’s gone, nature enthusiasts are left with the hues of fall, allowing them to take photos, do crafts or simply gaze at the leaves as they undergo this annual event.

Tennessee-based travel website SmokyMountains.com has created an interactive map where travelers can track fall foliage around the nation, finding out where the leaves are approaching peak fall colors, have passed it and even if there's minimal change among the trees.

Experts say factors that impact fall foliage include steady rainfall during spring and summer, and cool nights in the early fall. Conditions weren’t ideal this year in some parts of the U.S., Paul Pastelok, long-range forecaster at AccuWeather, told USA TODAY in mid-October.

This year, there was a significant lack of rain in August and temperatures were warmer, creating stress for the trees across the country, prompting them to then “shut down early," Pastelok told USA TODAY previously.

Still, leaves in some parts of the United States turned out OK despite the stress put on them, Pastelok said, noting that parts of central and northern New England fared pretty well.

Here’s more on what fall foliage will look like this weekend and early next week, according to the interactive map on SmokyMountains.com.

Where will peak fall colors be present this weekend?

Most of the northern U.S. has already reached peak fall coloring, including Pacific Northwestern states, such as Washington and Oregon, western states like Nevada and California, as well as Minnesota and Michigan in the Midwest, and much of New England.

Moving towards the central parts of the U.S., many states are nearing peak coloring, including much of Illinois, most of Missouri and western Kansas.

Some states in the Southeastern U.S. are also nearing peak coloring, including eastern North Carolina, most of South Carolina, northern Georgia, central Tennessee and southern Kentucky.

And the best fall colors this weekend and early next week will be in southeastern South Dakota, central Iowa, parts of northern Illinois, as well as southern Indiana and southwestern Ohio, according to the map.

Vibrant colors should also be visible in northern Kentucky, western Virginia and eastern Virginia, as well as parts of northern Tennessee, central North Carolina and the northwestern region of South Carolina.

A portion of northwestern Arkansas and eastern Colorado will also be quite vibrant, the map shows.

Areas that have yet to see much fall coloring, or have patches of it this season, are most of Texas, as well as Louisiana and Florida.

See the prediction for your state at www.SmokyMountains.com/fall-foliage-map.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where is fall foliage peaking in late October? See US map

Reporting by Saleen Martin and Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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