I love it when our Oregon and Washington trees have more bright orange and red than a pumpkin patch!Â
And this last week of October 2011 a lot of them do.
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The pictures are rolling in to KOIN Local 6: news@koin.com
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Bud & Kathy LeDoux sent the photos I’m using in this post. The trees are definitely putting on a show where they are in Molalla right now.
And with a mostly dry weekend in the forecast it’s going to be a great stretch to get out an enjoy the northwest fall colors while they’re still here!
Peak Fall Color Forecast For The Northwest
Based on color reports from around Oregon and Washington–the peak of fall colors is underway right now! It’s not over but the peak has started.
Based on color reports from around Oregon and Washington–the peak of fall colors is underway right now! It’s not over but the peak has started.
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Details On The Peak Fall Colors For Washington And Oregon
In the northwest, including places like Portland, Seattle and down toward Medford, we have what I like to call a ‘rolling peak’ which means some trees have already hit peak color and will kind of ‘fade out’ over the next few days. The first picture in this post is an example.
Details On The Peak Fall Colors For Washington And Oregon
In the northwest, including places like Portland, Seattle and down toward Medford, we have what I like to call a ‘rolling peak’ which means some trees have already hit peak color and will kind of ‘fade out’ over the next few days. The first picture in this post is an example.
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- But as you see in this second photo, other trees are just now part way through their color change and will start their peak color in the next 3-5 days.
- This means that our rolling peak is underway here on October 26th and should last about 10 more days or until approximately November 5th.
- Some of the late changing trees will still show color after this date but more and more of our trees will be fading to their winter brown-gray mode.
Why Leaves Change Color
I’m often asked what causes trees to change colors–is it the cooler temperatures or the shorter days? The number one reason is that trees are reacting to our shorter days! Trees use sunlight to produce the green color we see all spring and summer. But when the hours of daylight decrease, trees produce less and less of the green and the other colors take over. Some trees react more quickly to this change than others do and that leads to our ‘rolling peak’ of colors. Cooler weather does act as a signal for trees to shut ‘er down for the winter. But the changing colors are driven by the decrease in sunlight. So there’s a little trivia for you…
Pictures of bright fall colors are rolling in to news@koin.com.
Such a pretty day !
Look at all the sunshine..
Hi Bruce: The same situation here in Vancouver. Some of our maple trees are turning bright red- just spectacular to see, especially when the sun is shining on them