Fall Color Report for Week of Oct 2, 2011

Fall Color Report for the Mountains for the Week of 10-2-11

from
Howie Neufeld

This has been an interesting week in the mountains. Beginning on Friday, the temperatures dropped, and the winds picked up. Jesse Pope, chief naturalist up on Grandfather Mountain, reports that on Saturday winds reached 60 mph with gusts up to 74 mph. Luckily, for most trees, they were still holding on to their leaves quite tightly, so even though some were blown off, most are still there, and if we don’t get more wind storms like that one, they should turn color quite nicely in the next two weeks.

Color is progressing, but it slowed somewhat this last week, perhaps because of the relatively cloudy weather. Remember, abundant sunshine and cool temperatures bring out the best foliage colors. I would say that right now, most of the slopes in the High Country and on down to Highlands, are still mainly green, with about 30-40% color development now showing on the hills. Of course, good foliage color also depends on the intensity of the color, and that is lagging behind right now, at perhaps 20% of what it could be. But the sun came out Sunday, and is sticking around today, Monday, October 3rd, so this may speed up color development this week.

There are patches of good color throughout the mountains now, although somewhat limited in extent. Jesse reports that the heath balds on the ridges above the Blue Ridge Parkway and below the Black Rock parking area are showing nicely now. You can see the sugar and red maples continuing to turn yellow-orange and red , and the mountain ashes, dogwoods, sourwoods and huckleberries are also adding a nice red to burgundy hue to the forests. Birch, green ash, and Fraser and cucumber magnolias are also turning a golden yellow laced with some brown, and the tulip poplars are just starting to yellow. Oaks are generally among the last to turn, so there will still be more red colors to come from the red and scarlet species.

Emily Darling, at Purchase Knob in the Smokies, reports a similar state of development for fall foliage colors, even with their higher elevations that reach 5,000’. For those of you who don’t know Purchase Knob, it is right outside Waynesville and Maggie Valley. And finally, Kathy Mathews, from Western Carolina University, reports that the forests there are still mostly green, but changing rapidly.

So, it seems that this coming weekend should be the front end of the fall foliage peak, at least at 3,000’ and higher, while the next weekend will encompass areas slightly lower down. For some good drives, I recommend the Blue Ridge Parkway, Rt. 194 north in Watauga County, and of course, the turn off at Meat Camp to Elk Knob State Park, with its 360o views at the top of its 5,000’ summit. Further south, the drive to Mt. Mitchell State Park is spectacular, as is a drive through the Pisgah Forest just west of Brevard to the Cradle of Forestry. As always, you can see updates and science essays on my fall color page (http://biology.appstate.edu/fall-colors) and my fall color facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fall-Color-Guy/222437294470967). Have a safe and fun trip to the mountains this fall!