Everything You Need To Know About Fall Foliage!

Driving around the area this weekend, I saw more and more color on our trees. I also noticed the colors were not as brilliant this year as they have been in the past. It is almost like the colors are a bit muted. Let me talk a little how how the drought and the cold weekend affect fall colors.

 

Will The Cool Weather We Saw This Weekend Cause the Leaves To Fall Early?

 

Every year, the cold shots tend to spur on this question... does the cold cause the leaves to fall? The answer to this question is no. Although there are many factors that can influence when the leaves fall, the greatest influence to when the leaves change color and fall is the length of night. As the nights get longer in fall, the leaves stop producing the chlorophyll. This allows the true colors of the leaves to start to show through. The longer nights begins the process of the leaves changing colors and ultimately falling off the trees.

 

 

How Does Drought Affect Fall Colors?

 

Many of you know that we have been in a drought all summer and it has persisted into fall. Here is the latest assessment from the US Drought Monitor for our area and you can see the drought has been nearly destroyed in Kentucky and a severe drought is only holding on to the northeast part of our area.

 

 

Although drought is not the greatest influence for the color change in our leaves it can have a distinct impact on the brilliance of the fall foliage. Both temperature and moisture can affect the brilliance of the fall foliage in particular during late summer and early fall. Ideally we would like warm afternoons and crisp nights for the most brilliant fall displays. In addition, severe drought conditions can lead to less brilliant displays and can delay the color change by a few weeks.

 

Kentuckiana's Fall Foliage?

 

I think as you drive around the area, you will notice the drought did have an impact on the brilliance of the fall colors. I think the fall colors still look beautiful, but this won't go down as the best fall foliage we have ever seen. I have put together a group of pictures taken by viewers in our area...

 

Photo By Erica Dawn Deitsch

 

 

Picture  By Melissa Farangiz Huggett

 

 

Photo By Tom King at McNeely Lake

 

 

In case you forgot, here is a look at the normal peak time for fall foliage in our area. Notice most of our area peaks in late October.

 

 

 

 

If you ever have any questions, please remember I can be reached on facebook easily! Just follow the link below to my facebook page and click "LIKE"!

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marc-Weinberg/171330336238674#!/pages/Marc-Weinberg/171330336238674

Comments

[L. Phillips]

Let's wait until late October to see if the drought affected the brilliance of the foliage. Some of the prettiest fall foliage I have seen was at a family reunion, circa November, 1981. It was an absolutely beautiful day!

This year, maybe the leaves just need to go to school for a few more weeks and then,
they'll be brilliant! LOL!
:o)

[Danny]

Marc, this is off the subject of the fall foliage im curious and rather confused on officially what is considered Louisville official frost. Another words if the airport gets frost which im not sure how you can measure frost at SDF or is it official if frost develop at the NWS office off the Snyder? As you very well know some parts of the metro has already had there first frost of the season, correct me if im wrong but officially Louisville has not received a frost yet? Someone anyone please explain to me why SDF is where the official high and low temps are kept. Makes absolute no sense SDF is bias by 5 to as much as 10 degrees warmer. Jet airplanes hot exhaust and black asphalt. Of course it will be hotter take the official temp reading at the NWS office, please. If the official temp was taking at the NWS office some record high temps would still remain in check.

[Marc Weinberg]

Danny, SDF (the airport site) has no frost measuring equipment, so the NWS will normally issue frost advisories until the first hard freeze. Since a hard freeze has a definition, we can watch SDFs temp for that.

I have argued we need to do away with the SDF reading and either go with the NWS or Bowman Field as the official, but it just isn't going to happen. Standiford field is the absolute worst place to measure the official temp from in my opinion. MANY records would still be on the book if it wasn't for SDF.

[Danny]

There have been times in the winter where Bowman is having freezing rain and sitting at 29-30 degrees and SDF is at 33-34 with rain. Most viewers are going with the official SDF temp which can be deceiving. That in my opinion has always been a recipe for driving problems viewers are thinking its officially above freezing roads are just wet.

[bendetta williams]

we want to go to brown county indiana .how is the fall foliage now ..or should we wait a while longer?

[Marc Weinberg]

Bendetta, mid to late October is considered peak in Brown county.