Mother Nature delays color spectacular
Just a few pockets of color showing up across the higher elevations and, like last year, the peak of the fall foliage looks to be later than usual.
In the past, by the second week of October, the mountain area was already a riot of color and even lower elevations would be seeing some leaves beginning to change. But this has been a strange year, starting with a very mild winter, then a spring cold snap that damaged a lot of plants and don鈥檛 forget the effects the Cicadas had on our trees. September temperatures averaged 6 degrees above normal across southwestern Pennsylvania. And with a lot of sunny warm days and ample rainfall, the growing season has continued well into October. With all that sunshine and warmth, Mother Nature has kept the factory open later this year.
Cooler temperatures and less sunshine due to shorter days normally limit the manufacture of chlorophyll and this causes the green to fade away and the vibrant reds, oranges and yellows to become the dominate colors. Did you know that these colors are in the leaves all summer and only show themselves when the greens fade away?
Also, frost has little to do with the colors, and it蘑菇视频 just coincidental that the leaves change around the time of the first frost. Actually, a heavy frost can cause the leaves to break off from the weight of the ice and fall to the ground. Scattered frost has occurred in the mountains this past week, but so far, we have not seen a widespread killing frost and freeze. The lack of a hard freeze has also allowed fields and open hillsides to remain covered in wildflowers. October continues to be a very pleasant month with plenty of sunny days.
Later this week, we should start to see some good color in the mountains and by the end of the month, vibrant colors should be spreading down the mountainside into the lower elevations. Urban areas should see some color late into early November. Hopefully Mother Nature will still put on a great show. It will just be a little later this year.