Recipe is right for a colorful fall
Soon it will be time for the leaves to cast off their green coats and don more majestic robes of scarlet, pumpkin orange and golden yellow. Set against the backdrop of a blue sky, with the smells of fall hanging in the crisp air, it’s hard to think of anything more quintessentially autumn than the changing of leaves.
And as long as the weather stays warm with just a hint of rain, this year’s leaves could be more colorful and brilliant than the leaves of recent seasons past.
“The weather has actually been very favorable for a good color coming up over the next couple of weeks,” said Brett Anderson, a meteorologist at AccuWeather.
Anderson said plenty of rain in the summer – coupled with a drier fall with sunny days and clear, cool nights – results in more colorful evergreen and deciduous trees in the region.
“During the day, sugars are produced in the leaf, but cool nights and the gradual closing of veins connecting leaves to twigs prevent these sugars from moving out,” according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “Lots of sugar and lots of light spur production of brilliant red, purple and crimson anthocyanin pigments.”
Rain is another important factor when it comes to healthy leaves, because a lack of rain could cause the leaves to shrivel and fall before they reach their optimal color, and too much rain could dull the color, Anderson said. A heavy storm and strong winds would also cause the leaves to fall prematurely.
It’s a delicate balance, but Anderson said “at least a couple of light rain events over the next week or two could set us up for a good viewing period as we get toward the middle end of October.”
The peak days for fall foliage in Washington County are Oct. 15 to 21, according to DCNR. The department’s Pennsylvania Fall Foliage Report for the week of Sept. 24 to 30 said there is still lots of green on the trees in this region, but “good amounts of precipitation during the summer months have trees entering autumn in good health.”
Blackgum, black birch and white ash trees are a bit of a misnomer in the fall when their leaves turn brilliant shades of red, yellow and purple. Another colorful tree is the maple, which turns shades of yellow, orange and red.
“We certainly live in an area where we can expect some good fall color,” Anderson said.