Foliage Update: October 1, 2019

Leaves are slow to change and have only started in the higher elevations

Photo: Terri and Doug Puffenbarger - Snowshoe

ROANOKE, Va. – The foliage outlook from John Seiler at Virginia Tech is not overly optimistic for this year. Nonetheless, we're going to keep you updated on the change as we go through the next several weeks.

Excessive heat and the drought have lead to leaves on red oaks and sugar maples dropping prematurely.

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Plus, there's been little change in the overall color on the hillsides. 

This is consistent with what's being reported by The Foliage Network.

On average, fall foliage peaks in the higher elevations in early October, and mid-to-late October elsewhere.

Even though we'll get cooler this weekend, that won't be enough to change things overnight. It's going to take some time. It will likely be late October or early November before we see peak around here.

Even at that, our long-term hot and dry spell may have already been too much for anything really vibrant.


About the Author:

Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today.