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Terry Eliasen
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Fall foliage outlook

Today’s blog will focus on the dry stretch and its potential impact on the fall foliage season…

About three weeks ago, we aired a story about this year’s fall foliage around New England.  At that time, things were going according to plan.  Temperatures were starting to cool down and we had a pretty typical August as far as rainfall goes.  Foliage experts were predicting one of the best seasons in years thanks to a terrific growing season and very little fungus and mold spores.

I think we jinxed it.

Since we ran that story, it hasn’t rained.  Like, at all.  None.  Nada.

Today marks the 24th consecutive day without any measurable precipitation in Boston.

How unusual is that?  VERY.  This is the longest dry stretch in 25 years and the 9th longest ever recorded in Boston.

The beat goes on.  Many weather models are predicting more of the same for the next 7-10 days, leaving us dry right through NEXT Weekend!

At that point, we would be in the top 5 longest dry spells ever recorded.

I gotta admit, I am not complaining, and I doubt many of you are either.  This weather has been ideal for anyone playing or watching fall sports, dining outdoors or hitting a fall festival.  

But what about the foliage?  How will this dry spell impact the colors?

I spoke with Yankee Magazine foliage expert Jim Salge and he said:

“Leaves are supposed to dry out this time of year as they pinch off from the trees.  
From what I’ve come to understand, this extreme spell may cause the process to happen faster and earlier, though trees were healthy beforehand so it’s unclear how much so.  Should still be bright, perhaps just a bit more brief.”

So, maybe the dry weather isn’t a huge concern.  As a meteorologist I think the warm weather may have more of an impact.  We are forecasting highs in the 80s right through next week, about 5-10 degrees above the average this time of year.

That should certainly play a role in delaying the season, perhaps as much as a few weeks.

The current foliage map is literally all green.  Not that unusual for mid September, but typically by now, we start to see changing colors in the northernmost areas in New England.

Given the current state of the leaves and the forecasted warm stretch, I think it is a safe bet that peak colors will be delayed to some extent.  So, you may want to add a week or two onto these averages.

We will keep you updated in the days and weeks to come.  If you are heading up north, send us a report or some pics!  You can find our team at weather@wbztv.com



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