See how Microsoft Flight Simulator seasonal scenery works in MSFS 2020 and 2024, including snow, foliage, limitations and add-on options.
Microsoft Flight Simulator has seasonal effects, but support depends on the edition. MSFS 2020 can display live or manually set snow, yet its default vegetation does not deliver a complete spring-to-winter cycle. MSFS 2024 adds date-driven seasonal vegetation, though photogrammetry, handcrafted scenery and some ground imagery may not change consistently.
What seasonal changes are built into MSFS 2020 and 2024?
MSFS 2020 provides snow coverage, while MSFS 2024 adds a built-in seasonal vegetation system.
| Feature | MSFS 2020 | MSFS 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Seasonal foliage | No complete automatic annual foliage cycle | Vegetation changes according to the date, location and local climate |
| Ground snow | Available through live weather or the manual Snow Depth control | Available through live weather or manual weather controls |
| Aerial imagery | Based on imagery captured at a fixed time | Still based largely on fixed source imagery |
| Photogrammetry and custom objects | Textures usually remain unchanged | May remain unchanged unless their materials support seasonal effects |
In MSFS 2024, selecting an autumn date does not simply turn the entire world orange. Latitude, climate and vegetation type matter: tropical regions and evergreen forests should remain green, while northern and southern hemisphere seasons occur at opposite times.
Snow is controlled separately from foliage. A winter date does not guarantee white ground, just as setting snow depth does not automatically create falling snow.
Why can winter still look green?
Winter can remain green because the simulator combines dynamic vegetation with aerial photography and scenery assets that may contain fixed colours.
- Baked ground imagery: satellite or aerial photographs retain the appearance they had when captured. Seasonal vegetation cannot completely recolour those photographs.
- Fixed scenery objects: trees placed by an airport, photogrammetry area or third-party package may not use the simulator's seasonal vegetation system.
- No modelled snow cover: live weather only displays snow where the weather data reports suitable ground coverage.
- Climate and tree type: evergreen and tropical vegetation remaining green is expected, not necessarily a scenery fault.
- Package conflicts: an older vegetation mod can override the default trees and prevent MSFS 2024's seasonal materials from appearing.
How do I show autumn or winter scenery?
Use the simulation date for MSFS 2024 foliage, weather controls for snow, and a compatible vegetation add-on when the stock scenery cannot produce the appearance you want.
- Set the date and location. In MSFS 2024, choose a date appropriate to the local season. Changing the date in MSFS 2020 affects lighting and weather conditions but does not create a complete autumn or winter foliage cycle.
- Choose the snow source. Use live weather for modelled real-world coverage, or select custom weather and adjust
Snow Depth. Add suitable precipitation separately if you also want falling snow. - Add seasonal vegetation if necessary. This is most useful in MSFS 2020 or when you want a more pronounced appearance. Our overview of graphics add-ons that alter vegetation and seasonal visuals explains the available approach, while our MSFS scenery library contains freeware visual enhancements.
- Reload after changing packages. Many third-party season packs replace vegetation globally and may require the flight or simulator to be restarted before the new assets appear.
Do not run several global vegetation or season packages together. A package that appears to do nothing often has an extra nested installation folder, targets the wrong simulator edition or is being overridden by another add-on. For PC packages, follow our MSFS 2024 scenery installation instructions; if two packages alter the same vegetation, use our scenery-conflict troubleshooting process.
Do seasonal scenery add-ons work on consoles?
Console editions cannot use ordinary PC packages installed through the Community folder.
On Xbox and PlayStation 5, a seasonal add-on must be distributed inside the simulator and support that platform. PlayStation availability applies only to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024; MSFS 2020 was never released on PlayStation. Consequently, the stock seasonal vegetation in MSFS 2024 is the main option for console users unless a compatible console add-on is offered.
The practical distinction is simple: use MSFS 2024's date-driven system for foliage, weather or Snow Depth for ground snow, and a third-party package when MSFS 2020 needs autumn or winter vegetation. None of these methods can perfectly replace colours baked into aerial imagery or photogrammetry.