BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Western New York recently experienced a taste of fall air, with many spots in the western and central southern tier reporting overnight low temperatures into the 40s. No records were set, but this could definitely be called a taste of "coming attractions".
The sun is now down and the sky is clear. Temperatures tonight will drop to lows similar to last night. Some spots into the Southern Tier were deep down into the 40s. #WNY #WX pic.twitter.com/MJOHdRCeN1
— Josh Nichols (@wnywxguy) August 23, 2024
Besides noticing just how cool it has been, you may have also noticed that there are some trees across Western New York already appearing to change colors, as though autumn was off to an early start. I've noticed this along the Thruway heading east out of Rochester into Buffalo. I've also noticed this right in the heart of downtown Buffalo, just outside of our 7 News studios.
The sight "leaves" you wondering (I couldn't resist!), if this is a sign of autumn's early arrival, or if it's something else altogether. So I did a little bit of digging to see what the "root cause" of this was (Two puns in one article is quite enough).
It turns out, summer lovers, that the leaves that you see changing into their autumnal shades are actually a sign of the tree going through stress, versus the normal changing colors we come to expect deeper into September and October.
Many of these stresses are related to weather and climate, which can allow for the tree to undergo issues with respect to pests, or even disease.
Even the longer growing season that we now have, due to climate change, can stress a tree out. Recent wildfire smoke mixing down to the surface can also place undue stress on our trees.
Bottom line: the recent color change is the tree's way of communicating that it's battling the extremes of recent weather, and not necessarily a sign of how the fall will play out.
