Enfield, CT - Color change rapidly occuring

[loafer89]

I drove a bit more around town today and was shocked at the big change in Fall foliage color. What was mostly green yesterday, is now about 20-40% torward peak, which will probably be around 10/25. The valley area around I-91 in Northern Connecticut is a good choice for foliage color because we had a hard freeze, have 5% leaf drop at most and still have a lot of green tree's yet to turn. I'm cautiously optimistic it won't be a complete disaster of a foliage season around here.

[ctyanky]

Hey loafer, glad you deferred judgment on the foliage here! We still have green with little leaf drop and color emerging every day. I traveled around North Canton and Simsbury and West Avon today. The color is still early but coming on strong with a lot of reds and golds, less orange for some reason. Avon Mountain on Nod Road is approaching mid stage but I can't tell yet what colors are emerging due to poor lighting. Will go back on Tuesday. I think we will hit peak by mid to late week here in Northern CT. I'll ask my friends how the Barkhamsted Reservoir is doing. Tuesday I'll head up to Norfolk. Dennis Hill State Park should be almost ready as should Haystack Mountain and Mohawk Mountain area. Canaan, Salisbury, Lakeville, Colebrook, Sharon - I would guess to be spot on peak. That side of NY, Armenia and Millerton, the same. Have fun and keep us updated. CT

[triz]

Beautiful picture Loafer!

Curiosity/Naive question: what is it that determines the color? I mean, why does a tree turn red rather then orange or yellow?
For example, last Sunday night/early morning trees in Bennington turned to a bright orange (almost fluorescent) and I didn't see many reds. On the other hand, in the backroads around Rutland there were plenty of reds!
Is it the humidity?

[ctyanky]

Hi Triz: I found a nice link on our CT DEEP site. It is the type of tree that will determine its color. Also, variations will occur within the species due to soil changes, climate changes, location of the tree in the natural environment, etc. Many factors do come into play, some reds may be muted due to weather impact, etc.

https://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a= ... v_GID=1631

[ctyanky]

Also, some trees may be decimated by insects in certain locations and the tree's color will be absent or variegated. Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been relentless this year unfortunately for example...………...

[triz]

Thanks CT for the answer!

[loafer89]

Color change in Enfield ranges from 50% to past peak with the high wind gusts tearing down a lot of the foliage that's at peak color. Hopefully the forecast for sunshine holds for tomorrow as this cloudy weather is like an unwelcomed houseguest.

Routes traveled today are I-91 North to Springfield, 190 E to Soapstone mountain, Route 83 S to Tolland and local roads through Ellington, Broad Brook and Enfield.

[loafer89]

Hey loafer, glad you deferred judgment on the foliage here! We still have green with little leaf drop and color emerging every day. I traveled around North Canton and Simsbury and West Avon today. The color is still early but coming on strong with a lot of reds and golds, less orange for some reason. Avon Mountain on Nod Road is approaching mid stage but I can't tell yet what colors are emerging due to poor lighting. Will go back on Tuesday. I think we will hit peak by mid to late week here in Northern CT. I'll ask my friends how the Barkhamsted Reservoir is doing. Tuesday I'll head up to Norfolk. Dennis Hill State Park should be almost ready as should Haystack Mountain and Mohawk Mountain area. Canaan, Salisbury, Lakeville, Colebrook, Sharon - I would guess to be spot on peak. That side of NY, Armenia and Millerton, the same. Have fun and keep us updated. CT

I drove past Barkhamsted on Friday and it's not recommended. The area beyond West Granby becomes quite bare as you gain elevation. After todays high wind, it would be even worse. I'm curious how the foliage is along Route 7, but that's a bit far to drive if the foliage is sub-par. I'm going to head out tomorrow morning to Ellington, Tolland, Coventry and Stafford Springs.

[loafer89]

I drove the backroads from Enfield through to Coventry. I didn't get to Stafford Springs as the forecast for sunshine today was a bust with solid overcast and poor lighting conditions. The foliage is about 75% torwards peak here in Enfield, near peak in parts of Ellington and peak and past peak in the hills around Coventry. I will get out on Wednesday for one final trip around my area. We have some rain and a CF coming through on Tuesday with high wind gusts and mostly sunny weather forecast for Wednesday.

Ellington with color developing:

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Vernon:



Henry Hill, Vernon with developing color: