WOAY-TV (Oak Hill, WV): Blame the dry and hot early start to summer for the early season fall colors emerging across the region.
Rainfall is 3.0-4.30 inches behind average for the summer and undergoing the fourth warmest summer on record. Additionally, longer term (5-year) drought indicators show the southern coalfields and eastern Greenbrier Valley have been quite dry.
A vegetation ecologist from the National Park Service says one of the ways trees cope with drought is to prematurely drop their leaves. Once the leaves lose their green color, they won’t be able to regain green leaves until next spring. Hopefully, many trees in the region are adapted to occasional droughts and will rebound next year.
However, if the trees are also being attacked by insects or diseases, drought stress can cause mortality. Speaking of insect invasion, the tuliptree scale insect has attacked a few small trees, leaving a honeydew sticky substance under the tree. These insect thrive in the heat. That, coupled with the lack of rain has made the honeydew, a.k.a. “sappy” appearance more obvious this year.
The fall season won’t be as colorful as last year, but with a recovery in at least part of our rainfall deficit going forward, we will see patches of brilliant orange and red colors. Typically, our fall foliage season reaches peak color around Bridge Day in mid-October.
