Foliage forecast? Dornbush explains factors to Fox 11

In what can only be construed as further proof summer won’t last forever, WLUK, Fox 11 News on Thursday interviewed NAS Associate Prof. Matt Dornbush about the impending onset of fall colors. Weather impacts the foliage in a number of ways, Dornbush told reporter Andrew LaCombe. “The best color change occurs when you have sort of nice, sunny, warm days with cold, clear nights,” he said. “Drought tends to make the color change a little more extreme. And this wet weather doesn’t really affect it too much. It’s more if it gets windy and it’s raining a lot, you tend to actually knock the leaves off the tree and that tends to shorten the period of leaf color change.” A steady cool period will make leaves change faster, Dornbush said, but if the recent chilly weather doesn’t last, it’s still tough to predict what might happen with the colors. Full story.