This Land, Your Land

A hot summer and less-than-average rainfall should lead to a vibrant display of color this autumn in the mountains of western North Carolina, Western Carolina University's fall foliage forecast says.

"It’s been a hot year in North Carolina, with above-average temperatures this summer. Rainfall has been slightly less than average during the spring and summer. These are two factors I look at when thinking about the timing and quality of fall leaf color change in the mountains,” said Kathy Gould Mathews, a WCU associate professor of biology specializing in plant systematics.

“I predict this fall color change will be variable throughout the Southern mountains, but on the whole we should expect to see rich and attractive color change this season,” Gould said Wednesday in The Reporter, a WCU publication.

Although peak fall color typically occurs during the third week of October, this year's peak might arrive closer to the end of October because of the warm temperatures, Mathews said. The color change should begin at the higher elevations in late September and continue through mid-November in the lower levels of western North Carolina.

Thanks to the Smoky Mountain Hiking Blog, where we saw the WCU report.