What’s Red, Orange, and Falls in Autumn?

First Trax

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I know we’ve already had a couple of posts lately regarding the fall leaf report and some of you may be thinking ‘Seriously? Do we really need another page devoted to a leaf?’ For those of you who are, you must not have had the pleasure yet of visiting the mountains of Western North Carolina between September and October. I encourage you to do so because anyone who has will assure you, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Those who have had the pleasure and even those who haven’t but appreciate the beauty in nature won’t mind one more account–

According to David Crotts, "peak foliage around Boone/Blowing Rock appears to have been October 17, which coincides with the normal schedule. What was interesting this year is that the leaves around the Canaan Valley area in West Virginia seemed to turn about five days earlier than in recent years. That seems to be the experience so far in Raleigh, as well, as the large Sugar Maple behind our house today is about where it was on October 28 in 2008 when the peak was November 2-3. If the trend continues, this will be the earliest peak I have seen here."

As you can tell, as far as predicting peak weekend in advance, it’s next to impossible. As with anything else in nature, there’s simply no telling. Deciding factors include rain, temperature, weather fronts, and elevation, of course. Taking all of this into consideration, it’s not that easy to plan a trip ahead of time. The best thing to do is to monitor local reports on a weekly basis and be ready to pack up the car. If you aren’t too far away now, there’s still some time to catch a glimpse of the red, orange, and yellow hues that blanket the mountainside, but you better hurry.

It’s hard to believe fall has almost come and gone. There’s only one thing that makes it okay, and that’s the fact that winter is close behind! Until then, I’ll be cherishing every last drive on the back roads that are canopied by the lively colors, knowing that before long, the color will disappear and be replaced by a glistening white.

Email me your comments, thoughts, photos, videos, or anything else you like at [email protected].

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