SIKESTON -- Despite recent, heavy rainfall, the fall color in Southeast Missouri still has an opportunity to be decent this year.
"We had a really good growing season this year," said Ross Glenn, a Missouri Department of Conservation forester with the New Madrid Forestry Office. "It wasn't terribly hot. For the most part, we got rains when we needed them. The less stress a tree has, the healthier it is, and the longer it's going to go."
From Oct. 10 through Wednesday, a total of 4.24 inches of rain fell in Sikeston, according to the Sikeston Power Station, which serves as an official observer for the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky.
Leaves turn colors when two things happen. First, sugars produced by photosynthesis are trapped inside leaves by chilly -- but not freezing -- autumn nights. Those sugars are the building blocks for red, yellow, orange, and purple pigments. Cool nights simultaneously cause the breakdown of green pigments, allowing these other colors to show through.
"We were doing pretty good there for a while," Glenn said about the weather. "We had bright sunny days and cool nights which really helps with the color. The cloudy and rainy weather we've had won't help much at all."
Missouri's fall color starts in late September and usually peaks in mid-October. This progression of color change starts earliest in northern Missouri and moves southward across the state. Normally by late October, colors are fading and leaves are beginning to drop from trees.
Fall color is still developing in Southeast Missouri, Glenn said. For example, Glenn said he's seen beautiful, dark red and purple dogwoods, and the ashes are starting to turn yellow.
"I think, overall, as long as we don't get anymore storms, I think it ought to be a pretty good year for fall color," Glenn said. "The more sun we have during the day, the better it's going to be."
For the complete story, see the Friday edition of the Standard Democrat.