Here's why leaves in Iowa are changing to fall colors earlier than normal

The first official day of autumn isn't until Sept. 22, but some Iowans are already starting to see the colors of leaves on trees change.

You can blame the drought for that.

Kandyce Weigel, administrative assistant of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' State Forest Nursery, told the Register on Tuesday color changes have already started in southern Iowa because of the extremely dry conditions.

"When they (trees) don't have enough moisture, they'll start to go into dormancy," she said. "They need moisture and they need cool nights. And usually, the light change — when we have less light as the days get shorter — that cues them to change, too.

"But that dryness is cuing them to push into dormancy earlier."

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According to the State Forest Nursery, peak fall colors in northern Iowa occur between the last week of September through the second week of October; the first through third weeks of October in central Iowa; and the second through fourth weeks in October in southern Iowa.

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Weigel thinks the rest of Iowa is going to be "pretty much the same," as far as the timeline for seeing the best fall colors goes.

"It's probably too early to call how good the fall color is going to be," she said. "In the dry areas, it might be a little bit earlier."

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