Fall 2008 Color Forecast for the Blue Ridge Mountains
September 5th, 2008 categories: Area Attractions
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As I sit here writing this post, it’s an absolutely ideal day weather-wise and I’m looking out over a very green view that still looks like we’re in the middle of summer! Well, that’s certain to change in just a few short weeks and it’s good news for color hunters this year.
Foliage experts are reporting favorable conditions for beautiful, spectacular color for this 2008 Fall season. In fact, it could be the brightest leaf color show in recent history! According to Dr. Gary Walker, a biology professor at Appalachian State University, we are still in drought conditions in the western part of the state (which is suprisingly good for fall color), although there was enough rainfall this spring to keep the trees healthy. “Slight drought tends to improve the vibrancy of leaf color in the fall, so we should see spots of very nice color this year,” said Dr. Kathy Gould Mathews, assistant biology professor at Western Carolina University. “A sharp cooling of temperatures in September and October would really cause the colors to burst, as this stimulates anthocyanin (red pigment) production.”Â
With elevations that range from 1,500 feet in the valleys to 6,684 at Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River, the Asheville area is a fall leaf kaleidoscope from late September through early November as the foliage color beginning at the highest elevations slowly creeps down the mountainsides. Color hunters hoping to find the perfect “peak”? time for fall foliage are surprised to learn that Western North Carolina boasts one of the most extended fall foliage seasons in the nation due to varying elevations, microclimates and nearly 100 species of deciduous trees.
To help you locate the perfect autumn vista, weekly fall color reports for the mountains of Western North Carolina are posted by the Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau at FallintheMountains.com and a toll-free hotline 800-257-1300. ENJOY!
ps - Photo taken by my good neighbor and retired Superintendant of the Blue Ridge Parkway - Dan Brown!
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