Besides the obvious accumulation of leaves on the ground, another sign that fall is winding down is the fact that oak trees have changed color. The Midlands experience three peaks in fall color, with oaks signaling the final one.
Trees are cued to change color by the decreasing amount of daylight, a more reliable natural indicator of the shift in seasons than temperatures, which can bounce up and down. This year has been an excellent example of how important sunlight is to autumn leaf color. When earlier skies were sunny, that brought out the beautiful reds and yellows of sumac, maple and ash.
October's cloudy skies, however, means that leaves on trees such as oaks bypassed their colorful stage and quickly turned brown.
Source: University of Nebraska Extension/Nebraska Forest Service.
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