Tracking the changing of colors of Mid-Missouri’s foliage

Fall is in full swing as we enter the first week of October with temperatures looking to decrease substantially by the end of the week. One thing that becomes very noticeable across Mid-Missouri is the bright and vivid yellow and red hues of the tree leaves as they change from the summer months towards the later parts of fall.

This year, this change might occur a little earlier with less time than usual. Why might this be? To explore why leaves change their colors you must first identify the key factors of what makes leaves appear green.

During the summer months, average highs can range into the mid to upper 80s, this paired with longer days thanks to increased amounts of daylight leads to a surplus of chlorophyll in tree leaves. Chlorophyll's pigmentation absorbs blue and red visible light, while reflecting the color green. This leads to the widespread green foliage experienced during the warmer seasons.

Throughout fall, the average high in Central Missouri slowly decreases while the average amount of sunlight during the day decreases approaching the winter months. This causes the sugar created by photosynthesis to be produced during the daylight hours. Whenever the temperature falls throughout the cooler overnight hours, this sugar is then transformed into anthocyanin's leading to the red colors seen during the changing conditions of fall. This paired with decreased levels of chlorophyll caused by lower levels of production during the daylight hours leads to an array of different colors becoming visible in leaves.

Throughout recent history dating from the beginning of this past summer until current times, drought conditions have persisted throughout the majority of Mid-Missouri. Some parts of western Boone county along with portions of Cooper and Howards counties have even seen extreme levels of drought according to last weeks drought monitor.

This drought will have a direct affect on this years foliage color changes. If trends continue to remain dry, then many more sensitive species of trees will skip this step of changing colors and go directly to dying and falling off of trees. This means less leaves to view decreasing the bright colorations usually seen.

Although trends look to kill some leaves off earlier than usual, increased levels of sunshine experienced due to stalled high pressure systems over much of the Midwest point towards increased levels of red reflected in tree leaves.

When it comes to the best time of the year to drive around Mid-Missouri during this transferring of colors, peak activity looks to occur throughout the middle of October from the 17th throughout the 24th. After this point, leaves will begin to die at increased rates and will fall off from their branches.

If you are planning on traveling around Missouri to view the changing of colors, the Missouri Department of Conservation releases weekly updates on the changing conditions to help pinpoint each regions peak fall foliage. Click https://mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/fall-color to view the latest up to date information and condition analysis.