Southern Appalachians align for abundant fall colors

About 5,500 feet above sea level — the magic elevation where fall color first splashes each year — the mid-September foliage along the Blue Ridge Parkway was still green as far as the eye could see and even the odd yellow specks on the landscape were just signs of drought stress. But even as Clemson University forest ecologist Don Hagan made his annual scouting trip into Transylvania County for this fall’s foliage forecast, the temperature dropped steadily as the elevation changed, giving way from 90-plus degrees on the Clemson campus to something more autumnal in the southern Appalachians. To Hagan, who has been making fall foliage predictions for seven years, all signs pointed to the potential for a brilliant fall color season ahead … despite the mixed signals the trees are currently receiving from the Carolina climate. Typically, the cold fronts that usher in autumn bring with them cloud cover and rain, typically followed by several days of cool, clear, mild weather. And weather systems such as those are the ones that really bring out the fall color, according to Hagan. “We haven’t had one of those systems yet, but they should be on the way here in the near future,” he said. “And when we get those, that’s really going to expedite fall color development. “The weather that you get as you transition from the summer to the fall has a huge influence. It’s probably the biggest determinant of the quality and the timing of your fall color season. What you’d like to see is a nice gradual transition from summer to fall with that series of mild cold fronts.” What aficionados of fall’s vibrant palette don’t want to see, however, is severe weather events of any sort. While the majority of the damage from Hurricane Florence happened nearer the coast in 2018, Hurricane Irma reached the southern Appalachians in 2017 after the leaves had already begun to turn and blew many of them off trees with its strong winds. So while the potential for this year’s fall colors is through the roof due to abundant sunshine and no scrapes with severe weather, Hagan said those looking for a long and brilliant season featuring the best colors should hope for a gradual transition into fall — mild cold fronts, no freezing temperatures and no extreme winds.