From studio B it’s your fall color report. Hi Friends, yes, it’s time. Welcome to your first on-the-ground fall color report. We’re off to a lovely early fall and dappled start with what I like to call POP CORN color. Trees are popping in scattered bursts across the peninsula, especially along roadsides, field edges, and those yard favorites that always seem to jump the gun. Like the first popped puff in a pan of kettle corn kernels, these eager trees are responding to that cold snap we had about a week ago, which whispered to our forest friends: “Winter’s coming…” But not to panic with this week’s warm temps. Remember, the brightness or how vivid the colors will become is due in part to how cold it will be in the overnights. We’re looking for big swings in temps from overnight to daytime hours that will trap sugars in the leaf. This week the chlorophyll is clinging on. Let’s call it a false fall—a teaser for the full feature coming soon.
Warm day temps this week will have a ‘fade’ affect but looking ahead, expect a mix of sunny skies, mild temps and no major rain systems but we sure could use a few showers. Rain now would help leaves ‘hold on’ per se as stressed trees will drop sooner. In true Wisconsin fashion, grab a flannel for mornings, t-shirt afternoons, and golden hour selfies but remember, sunset time is now BEFORE 7PM.
