Strange weather this fall where you live?

[cali]

Because the weather here in Northern Vermont has been the warmest I can remember. We've had only one hard frost, and days are still in the high sixties to low seventies. As for the foliage, dullest year I've ever seen. Here's an article about global warming effecting the brilliance of foliage. Lousy colors and declining syrup production. This really sucks.

Climate change blamed for fading foliage
By DAVE GRAM
Associated Press Writer


EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. --Every fall, Marilyn Krom tries to make a trip to Vermont to see its famously beautiful fall foliage.

This year, she noticed something different about the autumn leaves.

"They're duller, not as sparkly, if you know what I mean," Krom, 62, a registered nurse from Eastford, Conn., said during a recent visit. "They're less vivid."

Other "leaf peepers" are noticing, too, and some believe climate change could be the reason.

Forested hillsides usually riotous with reds, oranges and yellows have shown their colors only grudgingly in recent years, with many trees going straight from the dull green of late summer to the rust-brown of late fall with barely a stop at a brighter hue.

"It's nothing like it used to be," said University of Vermont plant biologist Tom Vogelmann, a Vermont native.

<snip>

http://www.charlotte.com/nation/story/326726.html

[bbinacan]

1. Nope. n/t

[Uncle Joe]

2. We are currently experiencing extreme drought

here in Tennessee.

[Mabus]

9. Meanwhile, our soil is saturated

I took the dogs for their morning run and the ground made squishy sounds. Our grass is almost a foot tall because we haven't been able to mow it because we're in a mini-monsoon season. Worse, we found a leak in the ceiling one of the times it was, as we used to say back in my day, "pouring buckets".

My tomato plants are doing great and I've got a fresh round of flowers coming on. The grass (or whatever is covering my lawn) is pretty lush for this time of year. The trees are beginning to turn their autumnal colors.

I found one monarch cocoon on the back porch a few weeks ago. The only one I've seen in a while and I had planted milkweed earlier this year just to attract them. We watched it go from a cocoon to a butterfly. It happened one night. I took the dogs in the back and I looked up and saw a Monarch. Its wings weren't completely formed yet, like it has resting after struggling free. I told the hubby about it and he came out and looked. It was beautiful. Then it rained like hell for about half an hour. When we went back out the Monarch was gone. I don't know if it survived the rain. It broke my heart.

[Arkansas Granny]

23. I haven't noticed a big monarch migration yet this fall, but the fall

wildflowers are blooming in profusion right now and there is a lot of butterfly activity there. I walked the dog earlier this morning and we passed a stand of wild asters and it was loaded with several different types of butterflies, including a half dozen or so monarchs.

These are the flowers they were feeding on.

[Mabus]

30. We've got some assisted/independent living dwellings nearby

the city has some chemical company come by and treat the lawns for weeds and things. I keep complaining but every year I wake up to a neighborhood full of lawns that look like they've just been spray painted some ugly shade of green.

Up KU they have a Monarch awareness weekend over on Campus West. I went last year and got some seeds and plants that would encourage Monarchs to show up in the yard. They were mostly milkweed plants and out of about a dozen of them only one survived the green spray painted lawns (one of which is right next door).

I remember seeing, what seemed like millions of them, when I was a kid. It was a big deal and the teachers would take all of the kids outside when they came through.

[bbinacan]

31. I saw a very large swarm

of monarchs here in Texas SW of Ft. Worth on Thursday. Breathtaking. One of the guys with me read that the monarchs are migrating late and may not make it.

[niyad]

3. no, the weather here is always strange--my standard comment is,

"we do SO have four seasons==often all on the same day"

we do not have summer and winter wardrobes here, we have morning, afternoon and evening ones.

[proud patriot]

4. We had early rain in the SF bay area nxt wk will be in the 80s

all of my plants think it is spring

[Blue_In_AK]

19. That's nice to hear.

We're going to be down there for the UFPJ march on Saturday and some other things, so I'm looking forward to some nice weather. Make sure it doesn't rain until we leave for the LA area on November 1st. :)

[proud patriot]

49. Supposed to be in the 80s all week inland

Prob. in the 70's by the bay

[Xithras]

59. Typical Northern California indian summer weather.

Warm days interspersed with occasional showers. This has always been my favorite time of the year. If anything, it may be a week or two earlier than normal...the first rain showers usually kick in right around Halloween. Still, one or two good showers between September and November are fairly normal.

At least, it has been during my lifetime.

[shanti]

69. yes, and

halloween is usually when norcal gets its first cold snap.

[Eurobabe]

5. Yeah, I woke up to SNOW on 10/20, isn't it a bit early?

And it continued to snow all day today. There was an inch of snow on my car when I came out of my friend's house this evening.

[CoffeeCat]

6. Very warm here in Iowa...

I remember Halloween when it was snowing and a complete blizzard.

Today, Oct 20--my children just came in from playing--complaining that it
was too hot for jeans! They changed into shorts and short-sleeve t-shirts.

My impatiens are still going strong and beautiful.

I have a row of zinnias in our front yard. They're still blooming and beautiful.

Right now, my husband is out mowing the lawn, with no shirt.

This is IOWA...it's nearly 80 degrees in late October.

(Nothing to see here folks! <sarcasm>)

[orpupilofnature57]

7. We have all Orange & Gold , no Reds and definitely less vivid ,100 miles SW of you.

[Mandate My Ass]

8. Philadelphia, PA

Yesterday's low temp was five degrees above what the normal high is for this late in October. I had the air conditioner on and it wasn't the first time this month. Very warm here. My hibiscus is blooming just as profusely as it did in August.

[BobRossi]

10. Tornados in Michigan

Our tornado season usually ends in June. Still sleeping with window open.

[Eurobabe]

48. We had a small waterspout on our lake yesterday

not only has it snowed for the past 2 days, but the waterspout was COMPLETELY unprecedented. (because the air is cold and the lake is warm).

And THIS is in southern Germany!!

[alfredo]

64. There's some great pictures of the Black Lake tornado at

http://www.wunderground.com/. Look for the blog and then Jeff Master's article. He's usually the top entry.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=834&tstamp=200710

[AtomicKitten]

11. SF weather is ALWAYS an E ticket ride.

[muntrv]

12. Yep, here in SE Michigan, we are having warmer than usual temperatures.

[Saphire]

13. Nah, just the typical 90 degree crap.....

[Igel]

34. And, for Houston, humidity.

Dry enough to venture outside for a while, today, though. So fall's certainly on its way!

[Whisp]

14. strange indeed, this weather before the fall.... n/t

[Cetacea]

15. "It's nothing like it used to be" 'bout sums it up. n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

16. Where I live in NY it is in the 70s and normally at this time of year

the foliage is at its peak. Not yet and in fact my rose bush is blooming again!

[Blue_In_AK]

17. Not here.

It's pretty normal. The leaves are almost all gone, the snow is well down the mountains, and we are awaiting our first city-wide snowfall, which will probably come in the next couple of weeks according to all indications. We're right on schedule.

[tammywammy]

18. It was a warm Sept and early Oct

But now it's normal fall weather again.

[Arkansas Granny]

20. It's unseasonably warm today as it has been for the last few

weeks, but we have not been hitting any record temperatures. The temperature today is 84F and the average for this date is 74F. We've had a lot of rain this month, over 8 inches, and I believe our average is around 4 inches. The leaves are late in changing. They have just started getting that dull look to them and late October is usually our prime time for fall color. I've been picking up pecans today (two 5 gallon buckets full so far) and they usually don't start to drop until after the 1st of November. It's far from being an average year, but it's not wildly different.

[dkofos]

21. Sept. & Oct. have been 5-10 degrees above normal in the Dallas area

after a pretty cool and wet summer.

[Zoigal]

22. Extremely dry in the LA area

and the forecast says that it will be a hundred or so degrees later
this week in the LA valley area. Sounds pretty warm for this time of the year.

[mitchtv]

38. out here, in the Desert Cities

Hot, with high winds Santa Anas one day ,Pacific storm front the next, we have had only trace rainfall in two years. Lots of heat records fell this last summer.At least it gets cool at night lately.

[ThomWV]

24. Much warmer than usual but brilliant fall foliage here in West Virginia

I ride a motorcycle up into the mountains a couple of times a week - way way back from anything most folks ever see. The warm weather has been particularly noticeable to me. Also, as an avid gardner its been noticeable to me that we are a week past our normal first frost date (October 16th for us) and its barely broke into the upper 30's a couple of nights.

[fasttense]

25. Drought, drought and more drought here in east TN.

We normally have entire months of rain during the fall. Now we are lucky to have three days of rain in a month. Everything is mostly brown. The colors are not nearly as spectacular as they were last year.

Farmers are having trouble with watering their livestock because the abundant rivers and streams are drying up. I've given up on watering plants, it costs too much.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

26. Rather typical here in SW Washington. Cold & wet.

And, I'm not complaining.

[cuke]

27. I blame Hillary

Not really, but I wanted to make sure the thread had it's Obligatory Hillary Comment.

[cali]

29. thank you.

I knew this thread was missing something. Can we have a side of DLC, too?

[yardwork]

28. Extreme drought in North Carolina.

[Digit]

42. Aren't they classifying it as exceptional drought?

For sure, we are hurting for rain.

[yardwork]

50. Whatever the highest category of drought is, we're in it.

It hasn't rained significantly here for months. The native trees are dying. We're running out of water.

[Skidmore]

32. Southeastern Iowa having slightly warmer temperatures.

No hard freeze yet. Leaves on the trees are still mostly green. Those which have changed have gone straight to muddy brown. Many of the leaves that have fallen are still green though. it's pretty weird. Today we have a multitude of box elder bugs out, somethng I hoped we'd missed this year..

[msongs]

33. typical weather for so cal so far, a few minor showers, hot winds, etc nt

[rainbow4321]

35. 87 today in Dallas....

Drops to the 60's at night, though...which feels kinda (wonderfully) chilly after being in the high 80's/low 90's during the day!!

BUT starting Monday it's going to be 60's during the day and 40's at night. Not that damn Texas weather is predictable, it could very well be back up into the upper 80's the following week!

[NI4NI]

36. leaves still green and not falling in Delaware

temperatures in high 70's this past week.

[Kool Kitty]

39. Same here in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Yuck.

[NI4NI]

40. the warm unseasonable temps is one thing, but

leaves not changing color and not falling off yet seems really unnatural to me

[Kool Kitty]

41. Yes. And we've had some

very windy conditions here, and a lot of the trees have lost their leaves. The ones that are left, though, are green. I miss the usual fall colors. And you know what else is weird? I have three new peppers on the plant on the patio. They just appeared in the past week.

[flyarm]

44. i am just a little south of you in NJ and my hydrangea are blooming again!

pretty pink flowers..and my lavender is blooming again!! And I found 5 new Lilly's in bloom today!! The trees that usually are beautiful in fall, are just dropping leaves without turning color!

Weird indeed!!

Fly

[knowledgeispwr]

37. Atypical warmth and exceptional drought

Triangle region of North Carolina. Most days have been 80 or warmer, when we should be about 70 this time of year.

Local officials dragging their feet in imposing tough water restrictions.

[libodem]

43. been very warm in, Boise

and we are finally getting some rain. Very long, hot, dry summer here. Had most of the state on fire for months. Starting to have paranoid delusions about sustaining the fires for the high employment numbers they produce. Yeah, I know.:eyes: But I don't put ANYTHING past the WH these days.

[calteacherguy]

45. Northern California is getting more rain than usual this time of year. nt

[Lugnut]

46. Yes.

I'm in the Pocono Mountains of NE PA and the trees haven't reached peak color here yet. The forecast is for temps in the low to mid 70s tomorrow and Monday. Good thing I haven't yet packed away all my shorts for the winter.

[susanna]

47. I'm in Detroit...

...and as for foliage, we're completely behind schedule. We should be aflame and we're greeny-yellowish. In a nutshell, I totally understand. There were a few articles this year on gardeners loving the new "warmer" zones, but the fact is, when you've gardened a LONG time in one location, this new stuff is weird.

[etherealtruth]

52. Metro Detroit, as well

it's October 21 and I've got on a tank top and shorts. I am not pleased

[susanna]

62. Yeah. It's just really, really weird. n/t

[Vinca]

51. Here in southern New Hampshire it feels like August.

We haven't had a frost yet (although spots nearby have) and I picked cherry tomatoes and other salad fixings out of the garden yesterday. It's truly bizarre. My garden plants are dying of old age, but I think I'll be able to pick a tomato on November 1, a totally unheard of event. The foliage seems to be at peak this weekend, about a week to 10 days late for us. The colors are a bit muted, but still really pretty.

[HillBama]

53. ah yes,

its beautiful springlike weather here in New York.

[bklyncowgirl]

54. It's around 80 degrees here on theJersey Shore

If I didn't have to take my mother-in-law shopping, I'd be on the beach. Hell, two weeks ago I went in the ocean.

I feel guilty as hell about it but there's a part of my mind saying "I could get used to this global warming thing."

[Canuckistanian]

55. 73 degrees here today - in Canada. In October.

This is almost unheard of.

We've had only ONE frost so far this fall. Tomatoes are still growing.

I heard that someone in the area had a lilac bush that started to bloom.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

56. Yes. I was out sailing yesterday. In Minnesota. In late October.

It was beautiful, mid-'70s. But the leaves haven't been as colorful this year. It's been mostly rainy this fall, but warmer than usual.

[lateo]

57. Strange indeed

We have had record high temps almost every week here. We usually have has at least 1 snow fall by now. It is 77 degrees today.

[distantearlywarning]

58. Very odd here in Pittsburgh, PA

Supposed to be 80 degrees tomorrow. Our normal would be 50-60s. We had 90+ degree weather well into October, which is our normal temps for July/August.


Also, the leaves are turning really late this year, and they aren't nearly as colorful as they have been in previous years.

[InvisibleTouch]

60. Unusually warm in the Midwest...

...and though I'm personally not complaining (allow me a moment of short-sighted self-indulgence), I know it doesn't bode well for the overall health of the planet.

[hatrack]

61. What is this "fall" you speak of?

So far, about 80% of the trees either have barely begun to change, or have not changed at all.

We haven't had anything even approaching a frost, let alone a hard freeze.

We're still pulling tomatoes and peppers out of the garden, the rye and vetch I planted one month ago as a cover crop is now more than a foot high and there are still plenty of green beans left on our trellises.

There have been no - zero - walnuts this year, either here or down at my Dad's place. Usually at Dad's, walking in the front yard during fall is an exercise in avoiding twisted ankles, but you just just about roller skate this year.

Today it was 76, last Saturday it was 86 and we're in freakin' Kansas City for crying out loud.

[LittleClarkie]

63. Warm for October this weekend. But now we're back to pretty close to typical

a bit rainy though. Good I suppose since we've been drought-ish for a while now.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

65. First cool front today - on Monday!1

We got some Canuckistan air and a lot of rain. Finally cool enough to go outside comfortably. Before this it was in the eighties but a tiny bit drier.

It was 62 degrees today!!

And on April 6, the day before Easter, we had SNOW in East Texas (2 inches) and it was 35 degrees!

[incapsulated]

66. Hottest October on record in NYC

:\

[Arugula Latte]

67. Not really. Our rains started kinda early this year, but, heck, it's the Northwest.

Sometimes the deluge holds off until after Halloween, but we had quite the soaking storm last week. Today was gorgeous, though.

[marmar]

68. 80 in the Detroit area Sunday, mid-70s today......

Shorts in late October? Strange days.

[Rhythm and Blue]

70. It's a pretty average Chicago autumn. nt

[Kerrytravelers]

71. I'm in the Los Angeles area, north of downtown. It's 80 degrees here.

It is very warm, more so than typical for this time of year.