Finally seeing some fall foliage
Are you ready to see some beautiful fall foliage?
The jury is out on whether this year’s display will be very vibrant. Drought conditions are showing effects on our region now that it’s time for foliage to start changing color. Trees showed signs of stress early from summer heat and dry conditions, and now fall color is sporadically popping across Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia with reports of color visible in the Laurel Highlands and higher elevations of West Virginia.
We drove through parts of West Virginia two weeks ago and didn’t see much color change. I always look forward to a home West Virginia University football game in Morgantown in October so we can enjoy the pretty tree colors during the drive down and back.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), peak foliage is still a few weeks away, though the latest foliage report map shows some areas in North Central Pennsylvania approaching peak color already.
Did you start seeing the trees in your neighborhood start to turn a brown in early August? I noticed this and wondered if it was because we had such a dry stretch of weather late in the season along with a higher than normal number of days when the temperature hit 90 degrees or higher this summer.
Sometimes stress from heat and drought can start to turn trees different colors earlier than their usual start in September and October. This year, the DCNR says dry conditions pushed fall color ahead of average, with certain trees like black gums and red maples starting to show color across the state along with some in Northern West Virginia.
The DCNR says their foresters in Indiana and Cambria Counties report trees turning color two to three weeks earlier than usual thanks to the dry conditions. Birch, beech, cherry and maples have already turned. The Laurel Highlands is always a favorite fall foliage viewing spot, and foresters there report some beautiful shades of bright red and burgundy across the Ridges already.
Experts at the DCNR say drought conditions impacting much of Southwestern Pennsylvania are being reflected in the fall color progression with less drought-tolerant trees like those birches and maples turning early and even dropping leaves early. Oak trees have been a bit more tolerant and are staying green for now.
Searching for a spot to do some leaf peeping this next week? You may want to head east to Somerset County where elevation approaches 3,200 feet (some of the highest in the Keystone State), and this means the area around Mt. Davis is usually one of the earliest to reach peak color. Washington, Greene, Fayette, Westmoreland and Allegheny counties are starting to see maples turning red, orange and yellow. Further north in Beaver and Butler counties, foresters report somewhat chaotic color change with some trees of the same species in different stages of color change.
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.