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Is it time for fall already?

3 min read
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It seems like it was just Memorial Day … or even New Year’s Day. This year seems to have flown by even faster than the one before, and I just looked at the calendar after Labor Day and realized fall is just a few days away now. Fall 2024 will arrive officially at 8:44 a.m. on Sept. 22. These last few cool (dare I say chilly?) nights have finally put me in the mood for a nice coolish start to the season. I love the warm, sunny afternoons and clear, crisp nights of September and early October, the start of leaves changing color and the onset of football season.

On the topic of fall foliage, I’m not quite sure what to expect for the annual color show this season. We’ve had an abnormally dry summer, with the U.S. Drought Monitor weekly update not showing any improvement this past week. In fact, our very dry conditions are worsening. This past week, moderate drought expanded into Western Pennsylvania as the dry conditions in the Ohio River Basin continued to intensify. West Virginia, now predominantly covered in severe drought or worse, did not see any reprieve. Part of Southeastern Ohio is in extreme drought now, while much of Southwestern Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia are in severe drought. It seems strange to talk about drought since Pittsburgh is actually 6.39″ above normal for yearly precipitation so far in 2024. That’s mainly due to a very soggy spring (especially April). Once June rolled around, we really turned dry, with Pittsburgh running as much as 2.68″ below normal from June 1 to late August. A few recent rounds of rain slashed that deficit the last couple of days in August and this first week of September, but we still need more rain. I’m not sure if our lawns, gardens and crops can be saved, but I sure hope so.

In the temperature department, I’m ready for a bit of a cooldown. Pittsburgh has recorded 24 days this year with a temperature of 90 degrees or higher. The hottest temperature recorded at Pittsburgh’s official climate station was 94 degrees, but we hit that mark on seven days this year! Several days also climbed to 92 and 93 degrees. I’m ready for some nice 70s and sunshine this fall, followed by cool nights in the 40s and 50s.

Whether trees will respond with bright foliage this fall remains to be seen. Dry conditions could impact how vibrant the colors get this autumn. Some fall foliage experts warn we can expect a less vibrant leaf-peeping season this year in Western Pennsylvania due to the high heat and lack of rain. That could force trees to turn colors and drop leaves sooner than the normal mid-September through October timeframe. I’ll still hope the bright sunshine and clear, crisp, cool nights will help the trees have their usual beautiful display of reds, golds and rusts!

Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.

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