What effect will the abnormal heat have on New England foliage?

Hi folks,

I reside in the PNW near Seattle and was planning on exploring for my first time the New England states from the last week of September into late October, but am concerned that the abnormal extended heat and lack of precipitation this year may result in a poor autumn foliage showing. Can any of you who live in the region share any insight, forecasts, or what you are seeing in the trees already? Yesterday I read an article from the Chicago Tribune stating some trees in New England are already going into protection mode and turning color.

Thanks,
Ross

Hi Ross,
The Trib article is correct that there are a few more trees than usual that are changing color early. I have lived in New England all my life so far and the dry weather we have had this summer will cause the yellows, oranges, and reds to be a bit less vivid than normal, and the leaves will drop sooner. This is a defensive mechanism the tree will emply when it senses there is not enough water to support all those leave and it will shut down earlier than normal.
The ramifications for you is a big storm could knock far more of the leaves off the trees if that happens. Things are fickle though I have had some of my best opportunities in the autumn of dry years, sort of right place right time kind of thing that defies the general trend.
Whether you come out here this year or another year contact me ahead of time and maybe I can set aside a day or two and get you to some good spots.

all the best

Jim

Just drove through Maine and some of the swamp maples are just beginning to show a bit color. Further north there was no sign of color, but then again there are many more evergreens on the route I took.

Thank you for the responses and for your kind offer Jim. My wife and I have 6 weeks off together and it seems to me even if it will not be the best color year we should still have enough time and freedom of travel to locate some nice autumn sections somewhere in the northeast region, and we plan to finish the trip driving the Blue Ridge Parkway which may provide decent opportunity as well. We considered changing the trip to just the West since the eastern colors are taking a hit from the heat but I lean toward keeping our original plan of exploring New England as we'll surely enjoy other aspects of the area besides autumn color.

Cheers,
Ross

Hi Ross, I just contacted a friend of mine who resides in Vermont on this very subject. He has been there 30 years and he states that it is impossible to forecast the fall foliage with any degree of accuracy. I think if you arrive in the state at anytime during the first few two weeks of October you wll find plenty of opportunities. Enjoy!

Ross: I know I am "late to the game" here, but there is a forum dedicated to Vermont foliage which is the best source I know of about current foliage information. It is not affiliated with any NE or VT tourism or state sites, so the information tends to be unbiased. I will disclose that I am a regular participant (even a moderator) but found it looking for accurate foliage information myself. Here is the url: http://www.scenesofvermont.com/phpbb2/

Update to the New England foliage for 2010.

Ross - I was talking to a plant science guy at at the University of NH and he said the rain that we have had here in New England since about the 3rd week of August might just help the colors and give the trees a shot of water earliy enough to influnce the longevity of the color. Trees here in Central Mass have been shedding brown dried up leaves since mid August. From late June through early August the town next to me had 35 straight days of 90 degrees or above. That is unheard of for this part of the country!
There are many web sites to track foliage status. I have pasted in the four that I have found the closest to reality, although the maine site is far ahead in th ehonesty department. Remember foliage is big business in New England and most of these forecast sites are funded by tourism agencies. (to be fore warned etc etc)

Vermont Foliage forecast
http://www.foliage-vermont.com/

NH Foliage Forecast
http://foliage.visitnh.gov.ns1www.silvertech.net/index-flash.html

Maine Foliage Forcast
http://www.maine.gov/doc/foliage/

Massachusetts Foliage
http://www.visit-massachusetts.com/current_category.30/current_advcategory.292/companies_list.html

I hope this helps. . .

Jim

Thanks for the updated info!

Cheers,
Ross