ROANOKE, Va. – High and peak amounts of color are starting to pop across Southwest and Central Virginia!
Over the next week or so, a lot of the region will be experiencing peak colors or coming out of peak fall colors.
The process for leaves changing colors is a multistep process. Let’s break it down!
- Chlorophyll in leaves helps trap sunlight and create food for the plant or tree. This happens during the growing season (spring and summer).
- As the seasons begin to change and it gets cooler, the sun’s angle gets lower. This creates a lower intensity of sunlight and a lesser amount of daylight.
- As sunlight decreases, cells form near the base of the leaf and stop carrying fluids. In essence, choking off the food transport.
- When the transport of fluids stops, the sugar (glucose) is trapped and new pigments are produced. This is the changing from green to red, yellow, orange, etc.
Here is a look at some of the species of trees and what colors they produce as a result of this process during ‘peak’ leaf changing season.
Believe it or not, the vibrancy of Fall foliage depends on two things: moisture and temperature. Let’s talk about moisture first.
Dry conditions usually lead to a more muted display of color, while a more saturated soil leads to more vibrancy.
Warmer temperatures also halt the development of color, while cooler temperatures enhance brightness.
So far, the month of October has been up and down with temperatures. High temperatures have roughly been split between above and below average.
The same can be said about low (overnight) temperatures. However, cooler nights take the majority, and have likely enhanced the array of colors being portrayed in this season’s leaves.
In terms of rainfall, we have been far below the average over the past two months
September - 2.22″ compared to the normal of 4.06″
October - 0.36″ compared to the normal of 2.70″
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