The Last Leaves Of Autumn Always Feel Bittersweet

We managed to cling to autumn color in Vermont through almost
all of October.........

 Today, November 1, feels very much like stick seasons has arrived, right on schedule.  

"All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray," is the most apt lyrics to a song as we look out the window today. 

The woods are bare, save for a few sad brown oak leaves, and the occasional bright yellow hanger on in some of the poplar groves. In northern Vermont, a dark low overcast, punctuated by a few periods of drizzle, add to the gloom.

At least it's unseasonably warm out. 

It'll be a long time before we hear that nice sound of wind blowing through the leafy forests on a breezy spring or summer day.

But by November 1, it was pretty much all gone, and 
stick season had begun.

We had those nice days to close out October. In the late afternoon warmth Sunday the last bastion of fall color lit up my yard.  Three immense poplar trees gleamed yellow in the Indian Summer sun. 

Then a breeze came up. It was nothing much, maybe 15 mph. That set off a blizzard of leaves from those three trees, and the bright colors of autumn were done. Finished. 

I decided to make a video of this bittersweet moment, to say goodbye to the leaves that graced our trees and forests since May. They'll be back, of course, next May, but for now, enjoy the grays of stick season and the winter that will follow. 

Here's the video: Click on this link to view if you don't see the image below, or if you see it, try clicking on it to view on YouTube. 

 

Better Hurry Up If You Want To Enjoy Vermont Foliage

Dark clouds, sunshine and foliage combine Sunday afternoon
not far from Bakersfield, Vermont. The gusty shower
that arrive knocked down some of the leaves, a harbinger
of a storm with much more wind and rain expected in
Vermont Wednesday night through Thursday night. 

 Everybody knows the foliage season here in Vermont is fleeting. One day, the view out your window is spectacular, the next, it's stick season.  

Especially if you get a lot of wind and rain. 

It's beginning to look like weather later this week will doom foliage season in large swaths of Vermont, especially in the higher elevations, and the northern half of Vermont.  

If you want to get your leaf peeping in, do it by Wednesday.

Already, leaves are primed to fall. As I was driving through very pretty areas around Bakersfield and Fairfield late Sunday afternoon, I encountered a somewhat gusty shower. The gusts weren't particularly strong in that shower, perhaps 20 to 25 mph, but that was enough to set off a blizzard of falling leaves.

Also, the mid and high elevations that I could see were starting to look a little threadbare in terms of foliage.  All this was a sign that stick season will arrive sooner than many of us want. But it happens every year, I know. 

In the short term, we'll have pretty nice weather for leaf peeping during the first half of the week, and there should be still plenty of leaves to peep at. 

 Today will be cool, with maybe some showers here and there, mostly south of Route 2 and mostly in the morning. Some high elevations could get a tiny bit of snow, so there's a little chance of spotting some snoliage this morning. 

Tuesday, after a rather frosty and foggy early morning,  looks fantastic, and Wednesday looks pretty darn good, too. But you'll see signs of trouble for the foliage season by Wednesday afternoon. It'll be nice and warm, but you'll notice a good south wind picking up.  That should tear some of the leaves off the trees. 

But that's only a start.  Wednesday's breezes will be a harbinger of a rather windy and rainy storm.  This style of storm becomes extremely typical starting about now and lasting through November or early December. 

In these storms, a strong high pressure system moves off the east coast. A strong cold front develops over the Great Lakes and begins to head east. We get caught between these two systems. The result is a usually brief spell of strong, warm winds from the south. 

Which is precisely what's in the forecast later this week. 

Fall foliage glows in a patch of sun on a distant ridge during a 
rain shower Sunday afternoon in Fairfield, Vermont. 

These cold front usually picks up a lot of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. When it gets close, then passes through, the strong winds continue, but heavy downpours are mixed in.  Then, behind the front, gusty, cold northwest winds come in.

In this case, early indications are many of us will see wind gusts at or even above 40 mph as the front approaches. Rainfall in many parts of Vermont will probably exceed an inch.

That's typical for this type of storm, but its definitely a recipe for blowing leaves off trees,   We should experience this Wednesday night through Friday morning. 

Of course, all is not lost.  The foliage hasn't hit peak yet in the Champlain Valley and in the valleys of southern Vermont.  We should lose leaves with this storm in these places, too, but there's enough left in reserve so that foliage should be spectacular in these "banana belt" locations even after this upcoming storm. 

As always, the forecast will go through adjustments between now and the second half of the week, so it might not play out exactly as I outlined above. I'll keep you posted with updates. 

After the late week storm passes, early indications are the weather in Vermont will remain somewhat active, but not super extreme, which is a good thing. 

Stick Season To Arrive Saturday In Vermont Amid Continued Warmth

Foliage a bit pas peak but still gorgeous Tuesday at the
Spaulding Farm near Fairfield, Vermont. 

 Enjoy the fall foliage while you can here in Vermont, as it'll last just a few more days before the leaves really start to tumble.

Since it's a late foliage season, the leaves do tend to drop fast about now. Driving around rural Franklin County, Vermont yesterday, I sometimes hit blizzards of falling leaves despite light winds.  

Much of the Northeast Kingdom is now past peak, and a good chunk of the rest of Vermont will follow suit, especially Saturday.  

Why Saturday? Because that day will bring us the first substantial storm in two weeks. It looks like we'll have gusty winds and a good dose of rain Saturday, and that will bring down many more leaves. 

On the bright side, it's been dry this month, and we need the rain, so a rainy Saturday might be a good thing. 

Plus, it looks like we'll have another long dry period after Saturday's rain, so we'll take what we can get. 

I don't mean to be so gloomy about the foliage, of course. After Saturday's wind and rain, there still will be plenty of color and beauty in the Champlain and lower Connecticut River valleys and in lower elevations of southwestern Vermont. If you can't leaf peep until Sunday, head to those locations. 

So far this has been a remarkably warm month, too. In Burlington, only two nights have gotten below 50 degrees. This time of year, normal lows are in the low 40s in the Champlain Valley and upper 30s elsewhere. Frost is common this time of year. Usually. Not this year. 

Fall foliage near Fairfield, Vermont Tuesday. Wind and rain
forecast for this Saturday will bring down many
of these leaves, bringing us toward stick season.

Today is also likely to be eighth day in a row where the temperature reached at least 68 degrees. It's very common to get highs in the 50s even the 40s this time of year. 

The summit of Mount Mansfield, the mountain pictured in this post, still has not had a freeze yet. 

As WPTZ meteorologist Tyler Jankowski noted on Twitter, this will be by far the latest first autumn freeze on record for Mount Mansfield.

The previous record for latest first freeze on the summit was October 6, 2011.  It's now October 13 and the coldest it's been on Mount Mansfield this fall is 37 degrees.

The summit might finally see a freeze Sunday or Monday.  Maybe.

This warmth will last until Saturday. Especially at night. Lows in the Champlain Valley through Friday night will be close to 60 degrees, which is close to normal July nights.  Daytimes will come close to 70 again through Friday. 

Even after the approaching cold front goes by Saturday night, it won't get that cold in Vermont. At least  October standards.

Highs Sunday through Tuesday will be in the 50s, which is pretty close to normal.  Chances are most areas will continue to avoid frost at least through next Tuesday. 

If the last half of October remains relatively warm, we'll have another month among several this year that will score among the top ten warmest.  We'll see!