Drought conditions across West Virginia impacting fall foliage

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – With a drought impacting the Tri-State, you may be seeing some fall colors a little early this year.

No fall season is ever the same. Some years the colors of the leaves are richer than others, and this is all dependent on weather.

“So I’m originally from Ohio, close to Columbus, and I moved to Huntington this past year and I would say that the fall – especially September, October, November – was ten times prettier – sorry, Ohio – compared to Ohio leaves,” says Ginny Conner a Huntington resident who moved to the city just last year.

Whether you are a local or a traveler, fall foliage is one of West Virginia’s best tourist attractions.

“And it’s definitely fun. It makes going out to fall activities more fun when it’s so pretty,” says Conner.

However, mother nature can be unpredictable, like our region’s current drought. This could affect the Mountain State’s fall foliage. Joe Fitzwater, Chief Meteorologist at Nexstar’s WVNS in Ghent, West Virginia, says this drought could shorten the season of fall foliage.

“I think just about everywhere you’re going to see at least some kind of impact, right. I think that the first areas that you’ll see impacts are gonna be, obviously, where the fall colors usually pop out the earliest,” says Fitzwater.

He says that while this may not be the best year to see the bright leaves, colors will still be visible and there’s no need to cancel any fall plans or trips.

“So, I do think we’ll still have some fall colors, but I do think that the expectations perhaps should be a little bit curbed by people just because our region is in such a state of drought,” says Fitzwater.

The West Virginia Department of Tourism says people should refer to their weekly fall foliage reports for updates on which areas are changing colors and when.

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