Fall foliage predictions for fall of 2024

ELMIRA, N.Y. ( WETM ) – We’re getting to that time of year when fall foliage reports will come out, but predicting the fall foliage colors may be harder than you think.

Predicting foliage colors is more than just looking at the rain we had this year. You have to look at the previous year’s weather, and what affected the trees in the spring during the budding and leaving phases. You have to look at the overall forest health, and what’s stressing the trees. Because the more stress, the faster the leaves fall.

There are many things that can affect the stress of the forest health. Elevation, urbanization, rainfall, temperature, and many others.

Urbanization can affect this because concrete or asphalt gets hot fast so it can warm up the trees quickly. Elevation affects this due to the temperatures. When it gets cool enough, the tree realizes it takes more energy to keep the leaves and give them chlorophyll than to get rid of the leaves.

But even with all the factors that play into it, we can still make an educated prediction on the peak colors.

“Generally, in our area, you’re looking at probably the first or second week in October, you can expect peak,” says Tad Norton, a forester at the Department of Environmental Conservation.

For more information on the fall foliage or good destination spots to see it, you can visit the Department of Environmental Conservation website or the I Love New York website .

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