Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510220019
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As Richard Morefield put it, "Nobody can tell you when they're going to peak."
Morefield, a district ranger for the U.S. Park Service in Roanoke, said the formula for determining the peak weekend is easy: It'll always be the middle of October or the weekend before, or maybe the weekend after.
It depends on when Mother Nature makes up her mind to redecorate the forests in the familiar red, yellow and orange hues of fall.
"The angle of the sun and the coolness of the night trigger a mechanism that says, 'Hey, guys, time to go to sleep for the winter. Stop making chlorophyll,''' Morefield said.
That's why Morefield predicts - with all the certainty he can muster - that this weekend will be peak of the season, but he cautions veteran leaf watchers not to expect the same splendor of previous years.
Guy Sabin, a state forester based in Salem, agrees that the peak has to be this weekend because the leaves aren't going to stay on the trees much longer.
The summer drought took its toll on the area's trees, Sabin said. Without moisture, leaves started to shrivel up and fall off, some before their color had changed.
Morefield said to expect fair colors in the Roanoke and New River valleys until the first part of November. There will be pockets of color in higher elevations, and he said motorists along the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway should find something to their liking somewhere along the way.
For those willing to drive a short distance to catch a glimpse of fall's colors, one business traveler reported breathtaking views along Interstate 64 near Covington, with drivers pulling over for a better look.
While the lackluster colors this fall may disappoint spectators, they concern forester Sabin for a different reason.
He knows what dry conditions can mean during forest fire season, which runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 15.
The rain from Hurricane Opal helped alleviate drought conditions, Sabin said, but he'd like to see a couple of inches a month for the rest of the fire season.
by CNB