Has anyone noticed the trees are already changing color?

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It’s still only August, but it seems like autumn has arrived early. I first noticed about 2 weeks ago that many of the trees in this area (western NC, US) are already changing to their fall colors. Normally this doesn’t start to happen in this part of the country until mid-late September, so this is about a month ahead of time.

It’s been swelteringly hot (and only in the past week have I noticed it’s getting a bit cool at night and in the early morning), so I don’t think the temperature has anything to do with what’s happening to the trees. Someone told me this can happen when the weather is very dry too, because without enough water, the trees can’t produce chlorophyll, which is what makes them green. We’ve had little rain this summer, so perhaps this is the reason.

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21 thoughts on “Has anyone noticed the trees are already changing color?”

    • You’re in Cali, don’t the trees stay green pretty much year round? (BTW, I am editing your comment to remove my real name–I don’t use it on this blog)

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  4. I’ve seen autumn leaves come early in a different part of the country before, due to drought. But here in New Mexico where I live, the trees are still very green. Everything is green, all over the state, and usually New Mexico is very brown.

    New Mexico has had severe drought for many years in a row. Our area is called high desert, normally semi-arid. But we have had so much rain this year, our drought has been officially declared over. And we are still getting rain and even flash floods! It is super hot here now too, much.hotter than normal. Today was in the 90s, last week in the 100s.

    A scientist who works at a nearby special ops military base told my stepdaughter that they are studying weather patterns heading our way from other parts of the world, and they expect that we will have a very severe, deadly winter. I don’t know if he meant only here, or the whole country? He told my stepdaughter we need to stock up with canned food, flashlights, thermal clothes, alternative heat…. a cord or two of wood… but unfortunately we have gas heat that runs on electric and nothing that burns wood, so I don’t know what we will do!

    And how do you stock up on things when you live on a low budget? Yikes!

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    • Yikes, I hope he is wrong! šŸ˜®

      New Mexico is beautiful. I have relatives there (Santa Fe area and Ruidoso) I haven’t seen in many years. I remember we drove up to Ruidoso which is at a high elevation, in the mountains, and is very green with lakes and forests. But down below, it’s all desert. The contrast in scenery is very impressive!

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      • I hope he is wrong, too!!

        When my daughter and I drove to Taos recently, I couldn’t believe how green everything is. There are big ponds where it was just dry land before. There’s even a lake near us which old timers say had drained and dried up in the 1970s. Dry almost forty years and now it’s back! Freaky!!

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  5. No trees changing yet. I noticed the burning bushes changing last weekend, and I was very surprised. Usually mid-September for that. We’ve had a much cooler summer than usual though…(Indianapolis)

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  6. I’m in southern California-high desert area where it is over 100 degrees every day, BUT that stupid leaves are falling as if it’s October! It’s driving me nuts really. We need the shade from the trees to get a break from the heat yet the leaves are falling, falling, falling. šŸ˜¦

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    • It’s very strange. I would think it’s quite dry where you live. I think the US is in a state of drought (sp?) right now, and that probably explains the early falling of the leaves. It’s been very hot here too, and is just beginning to cool down a bit at night, but the days are as hot as ever!

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      • Oh it’s VERY dry! We’re in a drought, consequently where I live we can’t water anything on Tues & Thurs. Do I remember correctly that you said you read somewhere, or someone told you, that when it’s hot and dry the leaves fall early?

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        • Yes, but I can’t remember where I read it. I know in some places in Africa, they have “seasons’ where the leaves actually change colors and fall even though it’s hot year round, they fall with the arrival of the “dry season”

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