Autumn in Savannah? (Riverside: neighborhood, live, stores)

[songbirdsmile]

Hi, all. What is autumn like in Savannah? When does it start feeling like fall? Do the temps get significantly cooler in October? Is there abundant fall foliage?

Autumn is my favorite season and there are a lot of things I like about Savannah, but I don't think it would be a great fit if it doesn't get a real autumn.

[alco89]

To me, it doesn't feel like "Fall" until November, but the onset varies wildly in Georgia. Some years it's hot for Halloween, other years it's downright cold.

If you're looking for foliage like a picturesque New England town, you won't get that in Savannah. You'd have to go to the Piedmont and mountains for anything close to that. There are definitely trees that change color (mainly the sycamores and pecan trees with a few planted gingkoes here and there), but with so many live oaks, pines, magnolias, and palmettos, it won't be crazy colorful. That's the case for most of the Southeast coast.

[gentlearts]

Sorry, but Savannah is not a place to experience the fall at its best. The trees and plants just get tattered and tired looking and stay that way until a frost finally comes in January or February and puts them out of their misery.

[DanielAvery]

Also, the terrain is flat, so you don't get the same spectacle of the mountains covered in fall colors like in north Georgia. It'll still be warm (80s) well into September and October. There might be an occasional cold front but that's never predictable, and the cold snap rarely lasts.

[SEAandATL]

We were looking at traveling to Savannah/Tybee in early October and wondering how the weather/water temp will be. I went with my family once around that time in 1991 (when the Braves were in the World Series for the first time and Clarence Thomas had that Anita Hill scandal, that's how I remember). From what I recall the weather was still pretty warm and just right, not too hot. I'm sure if anything the way the weather is going this year it will be hotter than usual.

As for actual fall I'm sure it won't be ideal as far as seen foliage, but the Halloween festivities might be one thing to do and if you're into the haunted ghost tours. There's also Oktoberfest at Plant Riverside.

[gentlearts]

Sure, the temperature is very pleasant then. The Canadians will be in the water.

This is why I wake up around the week of thanksgiving, and go “holy s**t, I guess I should maybe get a pumpkin”, but it still feels like summer.

[garden17]

Planning a visit to SAV this fall, maybe a future relocation if we can find a neighborhood that's walkable, close to music clubs and stores but low in crime.

Mostly looking to leave PHX where summers are deadly hot, sprawl is out of control, traffic is bad and drivers are both brainless and careless. The goal is a compact city with better climate and city attractions without being too big and sprawly. SAV is coastal so that is a plus.

[midgeorgiaman]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

Sorry, but Savannah is not a place to experience the fall at its best. The trees and plants just get tattered and tired looking and stay that way until a frost finally comes in January or February and puts them out of their misery.

Summarized perfectly. Lol.

[midgeorgiaman]

Originally Posted by songbirdsmile

Hi, all. What is autumn like in Savannah? When does it start feeling like fall? Do the temps get significantly cooler in October? Is there abundant fall foliage?

Autumn is my favorite season and there are a lot of things I like about Savannah, but I don't think it would be a great fit if it doesn't get a real autumn.

I love visiting Savannah in any season. When you say "feeling like fall", that is subjective. By October, typically ( but not always) the awful hot/humid has passed, but it is typically still quite warm (especially the first half). Early Oct is 80s and it can still hit 90s. By late October, typically the morning is refreshing and afternoons are mild in the 70s It can get cool ( high in 60s) for a day or two or hot ( upper 80s) in late October, but it doesn't last long. By my definition of Fall, Savannah is wonderful. If you find walking outside in 80s to be too hot for you, October might not be the best, especially the first half. If your idea of fall is sweatshirts, frosty pumpkins and foliage.....that is not Savannah or any southern locale outside the mountains. It's all relative, but Savannah is a beautiful charming and quite unique city worth a visit,

[midgeorgiaman]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

We were looking at traveling to Savannah/Tybee in early October and wondering how the weather/water temp will be.

Water temp is typically 70s in October which is chilly to most southerners, hence the previous comment that the Canadians will be swimming. Lol. I know, I don't do water under 80 and prefer it around 85, but if you like it cool, it is swimmable.