After weeks of unseasonably warm weather through September and most of October, fall foliage is beginning to show across the Ozarks and is expected to rapidly reach its peak over the next two weeks. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, three factors determine when leaves turn and what colors emerge: shorter daylight hours, cooler temperatures and leaf pigments. During the summer, chlorophyll gives leaves their green color and helps trees turn sunlight into food. When days grow shorter and temperatures drop in the fall, trees stop making chlorophyll and reabsorb its nutrients. As the green fades, hidden pigments of yellow, orange, red and purple are finally revealed. Trees drop their leaves before winter to prevent moisture loss and keep branches from snapping under the weight of snow and ice. This photo was taken at Grand Gulf State Park off Route W, about 7 miles west of Thayer in Oregon County (Kimberly Langston/WPDQ)