Warmer weather could delay peak fall foliage for autumn 2019

With autumn right around the corner, leaf-viewing season is underway. But this year, your look at peak fall foliage might not happen until later in the season than normal for parts of the country.

Cooler fall temperatures and limited sunlight cause leaves to lose the chlorophyll that turns them green. But in the northeast, warm September weather is projected to stick around longer.
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"With the warm temperatures we will see here for the beginning of the fall, we're definitely going to see a delayed process in terms of the changing of the colors in the leaves," AccuWeather meteorologist Marvin Gomez explained. He added that evening temperatures will be higher than expected for the time being.

Those temperatures could impact cities like New York, where leaves generally are at their brightest in early November. Wetter conditions from this past summer could make it a good season for colorful leaves when they do eventually change.
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Gomez said communities in higher elevations in the interior northeast could see leaves begin to change in early October.

"The good news is that not only are the colors going to be really nice and pretty, but we're also going to see them last a couple more days," Gomez added.

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