Current:Home > NewsThe Midwest could offer fall’s most electric foliage but leaf peepers elsewhere won’t miss out-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
The Midwest could offer fall’s most electric foliage but leaf peepers elsewhere won’t miss out
lotradecoin reports View Date:2024-12-25 14:46:21
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fall is back, and bringing with it jack-o'-lanterns, football, pumpkin spice everything and — in some parts of the country — especially vibrant foliage.
Leaves around the northern U.S. are starting to turn orange, yellow and red, inspiring legions of leaf lovers to hop in their cars and travel to the countryside for the best look at fall’s fireworks. Leaf peeping — the act of traveling to witness nature’s annual kaleidoscope — contributes billions of dollars to the economy, especially in New England and New York.
But this year, some of the most colorful displays could be in the Midwest. AccuWeather, the commercial forecasting service, said in early September that it expects especially vibrant foliage in states such as Michigan and Illinois.
The service also said powerful, popping colors are expected in upstate New York and parts of Pennsylvania, while New England will follow a more typical color pattern. But that doesn’t mean New England travelers will miss out.
Maine, the most forested state in the country, had “an abundance of daily sunshine with just the right amount of rainfall to set the stage for a breathtaking foliage season,” said Gale Ross, the state’s fall foliage spokesperson. Color change and timing depend on the weather in the fall, but cooler nighttime temperatures and shorter days should enhance the colors, Ross said.
“The growing season of 2024 has been excellent for trees, supporting tree health and resilience that should lead to brilliant fall colors throughout Maine,” said Aaron Bergdahl, the state’s forest pathologist.
Fall colors peak at different times around the U.S., with the foliage season sometimes starting not long after Labor Day in the far northern reaches of the country and extending into November further to the south. In Maine alone, peak foliage can arrive in the northern part of the state in late September and not arrive in coastal areas until close to Halloween.
Leaf turn happens when summer yields to fall and temperatures drop and the amount of sunlight decreases. Chlorophyll in leaves then breaks down, and that allows their fall colors to shine through before leaf drop.
However, weather conditions associated with climate change have disrupted some recent leaf peeping seasons. A warming planet has brought drought that causes leaves to turn brown and wither before reaching peak colors.
Other enemies of leaf peeping include heat waves that cause leaves to fall before autumn arrives and extreme weather events like hurricanes that strip trees of their leaves. A summer heatwave in the Pacific Northwest in 2021 caused a condition called “foliage scorch” that prematurely browned leaves.
This year in Maine, leaf turn was still very sparse in most of the state as late September approached, but the state office of tourism was already gearing up for an influx of tourists. Northern Maine was already experiencing moderate color change. And neighboring New Hampshire was expecting about 3.7 million visitors — more than twice the state’s population.
“It’s no surprise people travel from all over the world to catch the incredible color,” said NH Travel and Tourism Director Lori Harnois.
veryGood! (18785)
Related
- A teen was falling asleep during a courtroom field trip. She ended up in cuffs and jail clothes
- 2 people charged after Hitler speeches blared on train intercom in Austria
- Gerard Piqué Breaks Silence on Shakira Split and How It Affects Their Kids
- Russia bombards Ukraine with cyberattacks, but the impact appears limited
- Social media celebrates Chick-Fil-A's Banana Pudding Milkshake: 'Can I go get in line now?'
- John Shing-wan Leung, American citizen, sentenced to life in prison in China
- 'Company of Heroes 3' deserves a spot in any war game fan's library
- What if we gave our technology a face?
- 'Business done right': Why the WWE-TNA partnership has been a success
- VPR's Raquel Leviss Denies Tom Schwartz Hookup Was a “Cover Up” for Tom Sandoval Affair
Ranking
- Rob Schneider seeks forgiveness from daughter Elle King after 'fat camp' claims
- Evidence proves bear captured over killing of Italian jogger is innocent, activists say
- A new AI chatbot might do your homework for you. But it's still not an A+ student
- This Navy vet helped discover a new, super-heavy element
- Stuffed or real? Photos show groundhog stuck inside claw machine
- Popular global TikToks of 2022: Bad Bunny leads the fluffle!
- A college student created an app that can tell whether AI wrote an essay
- Turkey's 2023 election is President Erdogan's biggest test yet. Here's why the world is watching.
Recommendation
-
'Alien: Romulus' movie review: Familiar sci-fi squirms get a sheen of freshness
-
11 Women-Owned Home Brands to Cozy Up With During Women’s History Month (And Beyond)
-
'Company of Heroes 3' deserves a spot in any war game fan's library
-
Delilah Belle Hamlin Wants Jason Momoa to Slide Into Her DMs
-
Streamer stayed awake for 12 days straight to break a world record that doesn't exist
-
U.K. giving Ukraine long-range cruise missiles ahead of counteroffensive against Russia's invasion
-
A new AI-powered TikTok filter is sparking concern
-
Bankman-Fried is arrested as feds charge massive fraud at FTX crypto exchange