Okay don't laugh

[winnitru]

I'm the first to admit I don't get the change of season thing. I've lived in South Florida since I was 13, we have tourist season and hurricane season... so bear (bare?) with me here.

Before I left the lake 2 weeks ago, I noticed trees turning to fall colors. Especially noticable were the ones across from the Catholic Church in Alton.
But this was early August! What's up with that? This was our 10th summer here, and never have I left with fall colors. What will it be like when I come back in October? Will I have missed all the excitement?

What are the weather conditions that facilitate this early color? What leads to such localized changes? How often is this seen?

Thanks to any who may reply

[RI Swamp Yankee]

I noticed a few trees on the North end of the lake like that a week ago too. I suspect the lack of rain in August and some very cool nights may be the cause but that is just a guess.

[tis]

Kevin Mannix on Channel 6 said this morning that it was due to the dry warm summer. The older and weak trees get red under these conditions he said.

[hazelnut]

There was a report on TV that the Apple crop is in about two weeks early due to these conditions.

[hilltopper]

We seriously need a good, long, soaking rain here in the Lakes Region. Just not on a weekend...

[SIKSUKR]

Definately some early leave change. I noticed quite a few trees that only had sporadic leaves changing. I think this summers weather has stressed the trees some and they have shut down production to small sections.

[KBoater]

The swamp/marsh across from the church is always one of the first places to change. It looks like it is quite dry this year. The normal change time for that area is early Sept.

[VitaBene]

The trees that you see turning early this year are due to drought stress for the most part. Our birch trees along our stone walls are really showing it this year- a lot of leaf drop. WE NEED RAIN (and I almost hate to say it)

[CanisLupusArctos]

I noticed the same thing when I was atop Cannon Mountain in late July. The foliage up there (4000 feet) was looking very "pre-fall." We're talking scrub trees, but they do have an annual color scheme to them, nothing like in the valleys, but the color scheme was definitely showing in late July.

This summer's weather at the Mount Washington summit has brought notable cold extremes -- accumulating snow in early July, and rime ice (freezing fog) just a couple of weeks ago. A chill at altitude is usually best shown (at our level) by the amount of hail we have in any given summer. To have hail from a thunderstorm, you have to have a low enough freezing level or it'll come down as cold raindrops. In a typical "hot summer" in New England, hail is sometimes not possible in a severe thunderstorm, due to freezing level being too high. The thunderstorm then takes its 'severe' criteria by having damaging wind (damaging wind and/or hail are what define a severe thunderstorm.)

This summer I have also noticed a great number of days with very low humidity and west (rather than south) air flow. On a couple of occasions this summer, the dewpoint fell to the upper 30s (F). That kind of air is more typical of fall.

Dry air brings chilly nights with warm days, as one might find in a desert (water content in the air slows the rate of heat loss at night.) Such a dry-air temperature scheme tells the trees it's fall. It is also true that they turn color when stressed. A few years ago one of my maples got damaged in a storm, and it was an early color-changer until it healed.