With Labor Day 2020 behind us and the unofficial close of summer having passed with it, Americans will now be looking forward to autumn escapes.With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to convince prospective travelers to stay close to home, we’re bound to see plenty of road-tripping, camping and interest in exploring the great outdoors as part of U.S. domestic trips this season. For those wishing to witness Mother Nature’s changing raiment as it peaks in particular places across the country, the 2020 Fall Foliage Prediction Map provides an interactive, online tool to help you plan your autumn leaf-peeping excursions. Trending Now Now in its seventh year, the innovative tool was created by Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the nation’s most-visited national park, which stretches between North Carolina and Tennessee and encompasses a portion of the Appalachian Trail.The Prediction Map covers the entire U.S., utilizing a color-coding effect to visualize the changing leaves’ predicted progress as the weeks wear on. It features an adjustable slider so that you can see when the spectacle will unfold in each part of the country so that you can plan your next trip to follow the swapping of Mother Nature’s raiment and snap some gorgeous fall photos in the process.The interactive map was created based upon an analysis of millions of data points, put together county-by-county. Of course, no foliage projection tool can provide 100-percent accuracy, since the timing of the leaves’ changes and the vibrancy and saturation of the colors is dependent upon unknown factors.Budget Travel cited the upcoming season’s unpredictable weather patterns as a chief factor that will influence trees’ color-changing peaks since it will determine crucial elements like temperature, sunlight, precipitation and soil moisture. PHOTO: Sunset from Blue Ridge Parkway, which passes through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (Photo via iStock/Getty Images Plus/tonda) The website is also a source for straightforward information about the reason that leaves change their colors in autumn, how the different hues are produced and what each one means, and what finally becomes of the fallen leaves.There are also downloadable coloring pages for kids and tasty recipes for autumn-inspired treats so folks can start enjoying the sights, scents and tastes of the season at home. Let's block ads! (Why?)