Anchor: As the temperatures drop to signify the progress of fall, the colors of the trees begin to change. NCC News’ Frankie Vernouski has when and where you should look to see the best colors.
Frankie Vernouski: Yellows, reds and plenty more. Professor Don Leopold at ESF says the greens of summer mask the colors of fall.
Don Leopold: This time of year, with decreasing daylengths and with cooler night temperatures, the chloryfill starts to break down–the green that hides those really beautiful colors during the fall. So those colors, the yellows and the oranges, are just simply unmasked by the degradation of the chlorophyll.
Frankie Vernouski: But with a warmer September and the hottest day CNY has ever had in October just a couple of days ago, that chlorophyll hasn’t broken down yet, so there’s still mostly green.
Here at Green Lakes State Park, about 20 minutes east of Syracuse, is one of the ebst places to see the fall foliage throughout the month of October in all of the state of New York. As you can see, they’ve only really begun to change here, to some browns and oranges, but within a few weeks–especially at the end of the month–everything will be looking a lot more vibrant like this.
That red color is currently occurring in the Catskills and Adirondacks with Central New York not too far behind. When this area does peak, Leopold says to head to Clark Reservation State Park and Green Lakes.
Don Leopold: And the reasons those places are special is because there is such a great diversity of trees, so you see so many different colors and some pretty spectacular trees whether they’re in color or not, so those would be my two favorite places.
Frankie Vernouski: If you head over to Green Lakes yourself, look closely enough, and you’ll see plenty of color. Frankie Vernouski, NCC News.
Fayetteville, N.Y.—Pumpkin spice lattes, warm sweaters and football on the weekends: The signs show that fall is here which also means the oncoming vibrant colors of fall foliage in the Northeast.
Shades of orange, yellow and red blanket the trees in a transition that begins in early October.
Dr. Don Leopold, a professor of forest biology at SUNY ESF, said the colder temperatures of fall fade out the leaves’ greens for the brighter colors.
“This time of year, with decreasing day lengths and with cooler night temperatures, the chlorophyll starts to break down—the green that hides those really beautiful colors during the fall,” Leopold said. “So those colors, the yellows and the oranges, are just simply unmasked by the degradation of the chlorophyll.”
At least it is supposed to be colder. The first day of October reached nearly 90 degrees throughout Central New York—a record in the area for any day of this month. Leopold says that should not delay peak fall foliage at all.
“The fluctuating temperatures aren’t as much of a driver as simply how hot or cold it is,” Leopold said. “We’ve had plenty of cool conditions, we’ll have plenty of cool conditions over the next few weeks, so I think our fall colors, probably as they are every year, at the end of October will be pretty nice this year.”
While peak colors have not hit CNY yet, they have elsewhere in the state—the Adirondacks and the Catskills. Leopold said that is all pretty typical.
Of course, when those conditions do hit here, Leopold has some suggestions on where to go.
“There are some really great places,” Leopold said, mentioning Clark Reservation State Park and Green Lakes State Park specifically. “There’s a such a great diversity of trees. Those would be my two favorite places in Upstate New York.”
