NEW YORK — Cooler temperatures, football, hoodie sweatshirts and the changing of the leaves will soon become a reality for people in Western New York.
To emphasize that the autumn season is upon us, the NYS Fall Foliage map is out and already reporting that leaves across the state are just beginning to change over to fall colors.
As of the third week of September, the map shows that leaves are changing noticeably in the Adirondacks region and scattered across New York State.
The map also shows that leaves are just beginning to change in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region, even in Ellicottville.
RELATED: Meteorologist Heather Waldman takes Heather's Weather Whys checked out some of the changing leaves around Buffalo back in 2018. Wonder what conditions make the boldest and brightest colors? Find out in the video below!
The timing of the color changes and the intensity of the colors relies on both weather conditions and length of daylight. As the days get shorter, trees and other plants produce less chlorophyll, the chemical that makes vegetation green. With less chlorophyll, the yellows, oranges, browns and reds that hide throughout the summer can finally be revealed. This happens earliest in regions at high latitudes or high elevations.
Colors are typically most vibrant in years with a warm summer with adequate rain followed by cool, sunny fall weather. Any droughts can over stress the trees and stunt the fall colors. Conditions are currently a bit drier than normal throughout Western New York.
We have a few more weeks to go before the leaves begin to change here in Western New York but when they do, be sure to send your best fall foliage pictures to us! There are several different ways to share:
- Text your pictures to us to our 'Text 2' line at 716-849-2200
- Using the 'Near Me' section in our WGRZ App
- Sharing your pictures with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the #BeOn2
