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Experts say the three factors that influence fall leaf color: leaf pigment, length of night and weather.
CELINA - Fall's sunset hues are in no rush to emerge this year, but patches of red, orange and yellow leaves are starting to pop up here and there, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
Tree leaves are changing in color more sporadically this fall due to a prolonged drought. However, recent rains brought by the remnants of Hurricane Helene have alleviated some of the drought damage.
Grand Lake area leaves are changing in color, according to the weekly ODNR fall color progress map published Thursday. This means that tree leaves are mostly green with less than 25% color.
Ohio's dry summer led to "uncharted territory" in regard to autumn colors, ODNR fall color forester David Parrott said.
"The drought has definitely impacted the fall colors for this year," he said. "Typically if you have a drought, then historically that usually kind of pushes back the leaves from changing. But now if the drought is too extreme, it has the opposite effect where it can cause them to turn early, like the leaves will turn early and dry out."
Parrott said the state has somewhat seen that affect, adding that colors are changing more sporadically compared to previous years.
Leaf colors are just starting to turn. Where in Ohio do they look the best?
SOURCE: Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources
"Normally what we'll see is the north usually changes first, and then kind of moving south is when we start seeing it change kind of in that pattern," he said. "This year has kind of broken those rules."
There are three factors that influence fall leaf color: leaf pigment, length of night and weather, according to the USDA Forest Service.
The timing of color changes and the onset of falling leaves is primarily regulated by the calendar as nights become longer, the USDA Forest Service website states.
"None of the other environmental influences - such as temperature, rainfall, food supply - are as unvarying as the steadily increasing length of night during autumn," the website states. "As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, biochemical processes in the leaf begin to paint the landscape with nature's autumn palette."
Throughout the growing season, all the leaves are green because of chlorophyll, a pigment that is used for photosynthesis, Parrott said.
"Once we get to fall time, the tree is getting ready to go dormant, so it slows down the production of chlorophyll," he continued. "And so when that chlorophyll starts to dissipate from the leaf, there's actually other pigments that were in the leaves the whole time, but they were just over overshadowed by the green pigment. Those are typically the orange and yellow colors that are always in the leaf."
Forester David Parrott of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources says recent rains should boost color opportunities for area trees.
When the chlorophyll dissipates, the orange and yellow colors start to show up, Parrott said. Once sunny days and cool nights arrive, a chemical process is triggered in the leaf that produces another chemical called anthocyanin, which is what gives the leaves the red and purple colors.
"If you don't get those cool evenings, not freezing, but cool evenings, you don't necessarily get all those red (leaves)," Parrott said. "Now that we're starting to get those cold nights, now's the time, depending on where you're at in the state, you might start seeing a little more of those reds and purple colors coming out."
Recent rain from Hurricane Helene helped alleviate some of the damage caused by the drought, Parrott said.
"The recent rainy weather should help some with fall color here in Ohio," Parrott stated in a recent ODNR news release. "For the best fall color, we need cooler nights and sunny days. The recent rain in Ohio, after a very dry summer, may benefit some of the late changers as they show their colorful displays within the next few weeks. The high winds we've experienced may have caused us to lose some leaves prematurely in areas hit by recent storms."
Will sporadic fall color changes become the new reality?
Parrott isn't sure.
"At least in my time doing this, it's just kind of each year it seems to always be different in some way," he said. "Two years ago, I think it was the wettest season on record that year. We've had pretty historic droughts this year. I think it was just last year we were kind of right in the middle and things, (and) it was pretty good fall colors. So, I really can't say if I think it's goning be more common or less common. It kind of goes by year by year."
For more information on autumn colors, go to www.ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/see-the-sights/fall-color.
