Why some leaves are changing color earlier than normal in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — Have you noticed that some of the trees in Ohio are starting to change colors a bit, and dropping leaves already? If you thought this was a bit early, you are correct, and there is one main culprit: a lack of rain.

Trees are stressed

It is no shock that trees need water. With three-fourths of Ohio considered “abnormally dry” and 38% of the state under drought conditions (through Aug. 27’s drought monitor), the state is in desperate need of rain.

In fact, some parts of the state are under a level 4 out of 4, or “exceptional drought,” for the first time in the state’s history since recordkeeping for the drought started in 2000. This is putting a lot of stress on the trees, resulting in leaves changing color to yellow or brown and falling off already.

The summer months of June, July and August were some of the driest periods on record in the city of Columbus.

Looking back at data for Columbus, only two summers (June to August) have been drier: 1933 and 1930.

This year, June was the eighth driest for June, July was the 18th driest for July, and August was the 30th driest for August. At 5.07 inches of rain, it was the third driest summer on record, at 7.67 inches below normal.

Since we are getting closer and closer to the part of the year in the next few weeks that we typically start seeing leaf color changes, expect that this year will not recover to the level we all would hope for.

With the outlook for below normal rainfall expected for the next couple of weeks, expect that we will have a shorter and less vibrant leaf peeping season this year.

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