uncletim Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Went to Spruce Knob yesterday... still pretty green in the valleys but the higher slopes had color. IMG_4579.JPG IMG_4580.JPG IMG_4661.JPG IMG_4679.JPG IMG_4684.JPG IMG_4685.JPG I know this post is from last week, but what I find striking is the difference between the west view and east view. West view looks almost done while the east side is still mostly green. Maybe there's some deception from the different sun perspective, but it looks to me like a pretty dramatic demonstration of the effect of the Allegheny Front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famartin Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I know this post is from last week, but what I find striking is the difference between the west view and east view. West view looks almost done while the east side is still mostly green. Maybe there's some deception from the different sun perspective, but it looks to me like a pretty dramatic demonstration of the effect of the Allegheny Front. I noticed that as well, I don't think it was an illusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfan Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Regarding the Alleghany front....when I drove out last Friday I didn't even notice any good color the entire drive until I got up near mt storm lake. Went from mostly green to lots of color in just a few miles. And near peak in canaan. That area atop the front gets beat up w wind, so leaves don't last too long once they turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Canaan is definitely a bit past peak tho the valley was close this weekend but lots of leaf drop. Areas between there and the Shenandoah Valley are near peak or maybe a week from there depending on elevation. Some of the hills just west of Canaan were noticeably greener lower. It's very pretty in spots but the color seems drab in the whole corridor between there and here.. Arguably worst east of the blue ridge but it's also quite early so perhaps the browns will be drowned out. I think the dry period was a bit too long to be salvaged by the recent rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Here's from Canaan Valley ski area yesterday.. pretty nice. Maybe I'm overstating the drab because I didn't take many photos. Actually you can see an inversion too with smoke/haze in the distance. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ianlivingston/22096055436/in/datetaken-public/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncletim Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I noticed that as well, I don't think it was an illusion. I've always been fascinated by the difference in climate at similar elevations separated by only a few miles on either side of "the front", and the fact that the effect is the same in PA, MD and WV, even though the elevations are much lower in the northern parts. I guess this is the right place to ask if anyone has a brief explanation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfan Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Saw some pics on instagram showing decent color popping along Skyline Drive. Not really sure about the northern portion, but the small sample I saw indicated the central part of the drive near Hawksbill was looking good. Of course, Hawksbill is 4,000 ft, so may not be representative of a very large area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Chill Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Saw some pics on instagram showing decent color popping along Skyline Drive. Not really sure about the northern portion, but the small sample I saw indicated the central part of the drive near Hawksbill was looking good. Of course, Hawksbill is 4,000 ft, so may not be representative of a very large area. I drove from Thornton gap all the way to the south entrance by Waynesboro on Tuesday. I'll post some pics once I sort them. Elevation and aspect dependent for sure up there. Highest elevations are peak but below 3500' the stages are all over the place. I would guess this weekend through next weekend will be prime time up there. I was staying on tanners ridge @ 2700' and the colors popped while we were there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormpc Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Up north of Philly, Doylestown up thru Morristown NJ is really nice now. Was through there yesterday and I'd say they are about 1 week from peak there. Colors are popping here but so many species go at different times it's never an all out postcard picture. Native trees in the woods behind my home are muted for some reason but the planted trees along the roads and highways look better, albeit delayed from the native landscape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Chill Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Sorted through the phone pics from Tuesday. These are a good example of different aspects and elevations along skyline (south of Thornton Gap). Haven't gone through the DSLR pics yet. Ran into this guy along the side of the road. He paid no mind to us stopping 10 feet away and just scratched around for nuts on the ground. These are all from Tanners Ridge where we were staying. Really peaceful and beautiful place to live for a couple days (or forever for that matter). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxdude64 Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Great pics Bob! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nw baltimore wx Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Bear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxdude64 Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Drove BRP from Lexington to Waynesboro yesterday, about same conditions as Bob's pics, tops above 3500 just peaked, still good bit of green below 2500. I'd say this weekend thru Wednesday would be the time to go for 'peak'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAPE Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfan Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Was up on Skyline Dr. yesterday 10a-4p. Knew going into it the crowds would be out, but wasn't worried too much about that. That said, the crowds were def out in force (and I've never seen so many selfie sticks). We drove from the Front Royal entrance to about 10 miles south of Big Meadow and then back up. It wasn't bad at all on the way down, but by the time we headed back up every single overlook was packed with cars. In some cases, cars were actually overflowing slightly into the lane of traffic, which caused a backup as people slowed to a crawl to get by. Think the worst part was near Stony Man trail as many cars tried to park alongside the road, but had their driver sides in the lane of traffic. Was literally an accident waiting to happen. Park rangers were out in force. I've been up there plenty of times and barely ever notice them, but we must've seen rangers at least ten times. Anyway...on to the color. I think I've been spoiled by spending some time in WV the last two falls. Maybe it's the higher number of maples out there vs Shenandoah or the small number of aspens, etc. but the color in the Canaan/Davis area just seems so much nicer than Shenandoah. The predominate colors were brown, gold and yellow. Every now and then you come around a corner to a small number of red/orange maples that stand out in the crowd, but the oaks are high in number up there. I'd say the central part of the drive above 3000 feet is at peak or close. Below that there is still a good bit of green, but color is slowly working down into the valley sections. There's already a lot of leaf drop above 3,000 feet. Many bare trees within +/- 5 miles of either direction of Big Meadow. If you hadn't gone yet and were thinking of it, I would skip the central part of the park. North of Hawksbill/Stony Man area in the direction of Front Royal should still have decent color next weekend.....if the wind doesn't take care of the leaves before then....especially looking down into the valley. Enough of the long winded post. Here are some pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Agreed based on what I've seen. WV seems best locally but even there New England wins by a good bit. Skyline Drive is cool but not sure I'd go back on a weekend near peak. It's about as fun as cherry blossoms when it comes to enjoyable photography moments. Still like the fall in this region overall and in some ways it's more subtle and challenging. The city is a pretty one as far as cities go for fall as well given the multiple types of trees and lengthy season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfan Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 The arboretum gets some decent color. They have a few large maples on the property and the Japanese garden section has a few large maples that look nice in fall. Check out Swan St NW for the gingko trees and the tidal basin for the cherry trees turning red/orange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mappy Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Great pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 The arboretum gets some decent color. They have a few large maples on the property and the Japanese garden section has a few large maples that look nice in fall. Check out Swan St NW for the gingko trees and the tidal basin for the cherry trees turning red/orange. I was going to do a post for CWG breaking down where various types of trees are in the city.. e.g., Georgetown is a hub for maples.. but I don't think I'm going to get to it at this point. Maybe I'll post a few here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfan Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 That'd be a cool post to read if you ever find time for it. I'd certainly be interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailylurker Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 As you all know.. those cold temps got the trees starting to pop. I think first peak (softer wood species) is going to be kind of lame. Second peak (the hardwoods) is going to be good,imo. I like the hickory and oak species. The purples, golds, and browns of the oaks are my favorite. Soft woods probably peak next weekend. Hardwood peak won't be until the first of November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfan Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 As you all know.. those cold temps got the trees starting to pop. I think first peak (softer wood species) is going to be kind of lame. Second peak (the hardwoods) is going to be good,imo. I like the hickory and oak species. The purples, golds, and browns of the oaks are my favorite. Soft woods probably peak next weekend. Hardwood peak won't be until the first of November. What are we classifying as soft wood? I thought those were all needle based trees and do we have any that change color? There are larch trees out west that turn a gorgeous yellow, but none around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailylurker Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Tulip poplar, silver maple, gum are what I consider soft woods. They are actually officially hardwood trees, but the wood isn't nearly as hard as the oaks, hickory, beech, ect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowfan Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Gotcha. Makes sense. The gum trees always seem to turn early. Tulip poplar, silver maple, gum are what I consider soft woods. They are actually officially hardwood trees, but the wood isn't nearly as hard as the oaks, hickory, beech, ect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxUSAF Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 I think we're on track for a pretty normal ~28 Oct-3 Nov peak IMBY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famartin Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Coming down I-95 in northeast Maryland was nice, lots of color from the maples, sweet gum and tupelo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandymanColumbusGA Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Took these down the street from my apartment after my run earlier this morning. These trees have been slowly changing over the past week and a half, but they were breathtaking today! Definitely awesome seeing all these trees changing colors! Haven't seen a lot of it growing up in Florida or working in Georgia the past 4 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Chill Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Took my dog to Lake Frank for a walk this evening. It was cloudy at first but when the sun popped out it was quite stunning. Hardwoods really showing off right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxUSAF Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 Nice shots, Bob. I like the reflection in the lake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famartin Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Took these down the street from my apartment after my run earlier this morning. These trees have been slowly changing over the past week and a half, but they were breathtaking today! Definitely awesome seeing all these trees changing colors! Haven't seen a lot of it growing up in Florida or working in Georgia the past 4 years.Sugar Maples. The "classic" fall tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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