Why are leaves changing color so early in the Northeast?
Leaves are changing colors weeks ahead of schedule across the Northeast amid building drought. Here's what it means for peak fall foliage.
Leaves are turning and falling weeks ahead of schedule across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Experts say drought, pests, disease and cooler, dry conditions are stressing trees and causing an earlier, shorter fall foliage season.
Fall colors are showing up weeks ahead of schedule this year across the Northeast, and forecasters say the primary reason is due to the weather.
“Leaves started early this fall to make the change from their normal green to yellows and oranges across the Northeast and Ohio Valley," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said. "Over recent years, the change [has been] more pronounced in late September,” Pastelok explained.
The main culprit has been a stretch of dry weather dating back to August, which has stressed certain trees and caused them to slow the supply of food and water to the leaves. Additionally, a spell of cooler weather around the start of September sped up the colorful transition.
"The production of Chlorophyll (the green pigment in trees) was shut down and the colorful pigments left in the leaf were allowed to come forward,” Pastelok explained.
A passenger on a canoe photographs the brilliant fall foliage on South Pond, Oct. 9, 2021, in Bryant Point, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
As a result, leaf-peepers in the mid-Atlantic, Ohio Valley and New England will have more time to enjoy the colors, although peak colors may not be as vibrant.
“Because of the change so early, the season can go for a longer period of time this season, but the complete turnover in colors may happen gradually," Pastelok said. "Which can lead to a mix of green and other colors through the season."
The leaves on a tree stressed by drought turn brown, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, in Boston. Drought is expected to cause a patchy array of fall colors with some trees changing earlier or even browning and dropping leaves because of the drought. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Since the trees are facing extra stress from the expanding drought, they are more likely to drop their leaves early. And if there's a big shift in the weather, it could make for an abrupt end to leaf-peeping season.
“Any type of wind storm can easily knock down leaves in this state too early,” Pastelok said.
Early fall foliage is also unfolding across parts of the Northwest and Rocky Mountains, in part due to dry weather conditions.
How vibrant the season looks in the weeks ahead will hinge on the weather still to come. Ample sunshine paired with cool nights without frost could help bring out more reds and purples before peak foliage season comes to pass.
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