How the changing of the leaves is different this year in North Carolina

Climatologists say this season's abnormally dry and warm weather will make the usually vibrant fall leaves harder to come by in North Carolina.
Posted 9/29/2025, 9:43:05 PM Updated 9/29/2025, 10:00:09 PM

FUNDING FIGHT IN THE NC CAPITOL

SECTION OF WRAL DOT COM.

>> IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR WHEN

THE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES COME

ALIVE WITH COLOR AND THE

CHANGING OF THE LEAVES

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. THE FALL

SEASON IS BIG BUSINESS. STATE

RECORDS SHOW THAT CHANGING

COLORS BRING IN NEARLY

70 MILLION DOLLARS FOR THAT

ECONOMY. BUT EXPERTS SAY THE

CLIMATE CHANGE COULD BE MAKING

THE SEASON SHORTER AND LESS

VIBRANT. THE VIEWER IS LIZ

MCLAUGHLIN EXPLAINS

>> THIS RAIN IS ACTUALLY GOOD

FOR FALL COLORS THIS SEASON.

SO FAR IT'S BEEN ABNORMALLY DRY

AND THOSE CONDITIONS CAN DOLE

THE DISPLAY. AND IN A WARMING

CLIMATE, THE RECIPE FOR

BRILLIANT LEAVES IS GETTING

HARDER TO

COME BY.

>> EACH FALL, NORTH CAROLINA'S

FORESTS PUT ON A SHOW THE GREEN

PIGMENT, THE CHLOROPHYLL

STARTING TO DISSOLVE 2 SOLID

ON MASK. THE YELLOW PIGMENT

THAT WE'VE SEEN. BUT HOW

DAZZLING THOSE COLORS LOOK AND

HOW LONG THEY LAST DEPENDS ON

THE WEATHER. CONDITIONS ARE

DRY, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE SOIL,

MOISTURES DOWN.

>> THEY HAVE MUTED COLORS.

SO IT REALLY CAN BE PATCHY

ACROSS THE STATE. I SPOKE WITH

ROBERT PARTON, NC STATE WHO'S

BEEN FORECASTING FALL COLOR

FOR DECADES. WE SEE A SLIGHTLY

LONGER GROWING SEASONS.

>> SO THAT DELAYS SOMETIMES

FALL COLOR DAYLIGHT SETS THE

SCHEDULE. BUT TEMPERATURE AND

MOISTURE DETERMINE THE QUALITY

OF THE SHOW. WE WANT WARM SUNNY

DAYS, BUT WE WANT THOSE COOL

TEMPERATURES AT NIGHT SO THAT

THEY TRAPPED THE SUGARS INSIDE

THE LEAVES WHICH HELPED

CONTRIBUTE TO THE REDS AND

ORANGES THAT WE SEE THOSE COOL

NIGHTS ARE BECOMING LESS COMMON

ACROSS THE U.S. FALL NIGHTS

HAVE WARMED BY NEARLY 3 DEGREES

SINCE THE 70'S, INCLUDING HERE

IN RALEIGH FOR TEMPERATURE.

WARMING HAS DELAYED THAT COOL.

SINGLE THE TREES NEED TO KNOW

WHEN TO START CHANGING COLORS

AND TO SHUT DOWN THE DROP THOSE

SLAVES. CLIMATE CHANGE ALSO

FUELS MORE INTENSE STORMS AND

ALLOWS PESTS AND DISEASES TO

LINGER LONGER THREATENING TREE

HEALTH WHEN TREES ARE UNDER

STRESS.

>> THAT'S WHEN WE TEND TO SEE

THE MUTED COLORS.

>> THAT UNPREDICTABILITY COULD

RIPPLE THROUGH LOCAL ECONOMIES

SINCE LEAVE SEASON TOURISM

PUMPS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO

THE STATE EACH YEAR. PEAK COLOR

IS EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS

OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS,

DEPENDING ON THE ELEVATION AND

HERE IN THE TRIANGLE, YOU CAN

EXPECT THAT PEAK COLOR TOWARDS

THE END OF OCTOBER IN RALEIGH.

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