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Pace of Fall Color Slows Down With Dreary Weather, To Arrive on Regular Schedule

Fall color bursts into the lush greenery near Stack Rock Creek on the Blue Ridge Parkway, bringing a brilliant reprieve for an otherwise gray, rainy day. With elevations above 4,000 feet, Grandfather Mountain and portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway are offering some of the most vivid views of the season so far. Photo by Skip Sickler | Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation
Fall color bursts into the lush greenery near Stack Rock Creek on the Blue Ridge Parkway, bringing a brilliant reprieve for an otherwise gray, rainy day. With elevations above 4,000 feet, Grandfather Mountain and portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway are offering some of the most vivid views of the season so far. Photo by Skip Sickler | Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation

By Jesse Wood

With the dreary weather of the past week and a half, the ASU Fall Color Guy noted that “the development of fall leaf color has slowed down this past week.”

ASU Biology Professor Howard Neufeld offers an excellent explanation of why the recent low-pressure weather system in his Sept. 27 post on Facebook has put leaf color back on schedule this fall.

“This means that we are probably back on a regular schedule for peak leaf colors, meaning that colors will peak during the first week of October at high elevations (4,500’ or above), around mid-October (the 10th through the 16th from 4,500’ to 2,500’), and during the last week of October in the Asheville area (~2,000 – 2,500’).”

With more rain and clouds in the forecast, Neufeld expects the developmental rate of color to slow down. “Be patient,” advises Neufeld.

“One thing in our favor is that all this rain has occurred prior to the leaf color peak, when the leaves are still held on the trees fairly strongly,” he posted. “So while some leaves have come down during this recent stormy spate, the majority that have not yet turned color are still attached tightly to the trees. So, I’m optimistic that we’ll have plenty of leaves left for a great fall color display in the next few weeks.”

Read the entire report on Neufeld’s “Fall Color Guy” Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FallColorGuy/posts/888641007850589