Thursday, September 30, 1999
Drought cuts autumn colors short
BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Drenching rain Wednesday might keep leaves on trees a few days longer, but the lingering drought means the fall color season still will be cut short by at least two weeks.
“That's pretty unusual,” said Carol Mundy, naturalist coordinator for the Hamilton County Park District. “In this part of the country we usually have leaves on the trees until the early part of November.”
Agricultural agents in Northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana are already seeing vivid colors and expect barren branches sooner this season.
“A lot of the trees have already begun the process of dropping their leaves. ... They go into a dormant stage in order to preserve moisture at the roots,” said Jerry Brown, Boone County extension agent.
Along Ind. 1, yellowing maples are giving motorists something to look at, said Dan Baugh, Dearborn County extension educator.
Generally, the second week in October is the peak for color, but this year “if you wait until the normal fall dates to see the colors, you'll be too late,” Mr. Brown said.
The Tristate needs at least 4 inches of rain to return to normal levels.
By 8 p.m. Wednesday, rain measured slightly more than three-quarters of an inch at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Wednesday's rain “may green things up a bit and keep the leaves on the trees a couple days longer, but that's it,” said Andrea Schepmann, a horticulturist with Krohn Conservatory.
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TRISTATE DIGEST
