Waiting for fall color?

Fall color is at least a week late this year, according to forestry and tourism officials.

By Oct. 1 in most years, the green leaves of summer have begun to give way to the reds and golds of autumn.

This year, however, a warmer and wetter than normal September has enabled the green chlorophyll to keep producing nutrients for the trees rather than 'breaking down and unmasking the colorful pigments in the leaves,” State Forester Paul Tauke said.

In northeast Iowa, the state's most popular leaf viewing area, fall color typically peaks between Oct. 5 and 10, according to Tauke. This year it will be more like Oct. 10 to 15.

Peak color spreads from north to south across the state, consistent with the spread of cooler temperatures.

'It's still pretty green up here yet. The bluffs still look green outside my window,” Darla Kelchen, executive director of the Clayton County Development Group, said Wednesday.

'The tips of the leaves are starting to turn, but it's still mostly green,” said Amanda Sisneros, administrative assistant with the Winneshiek County Convention and Visitors Bureau in Decorah.

Both Kelchen and Sisneros said they think colorful leaves will be prevalent by the weekend of Oct. 10 and 11.

They noted fall color is important to the northeast Iowa tourism industry and especially to the operators of motels, restaurants, convenience stores and gift shops.

Apple orchards and pumpkin patches also benefit from the leaf viewers' increased traffic, said Jessica O'Riley, spokeswoman for Travel Iowa, the tourism office of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

September has been about 6 degrees warmer than normal with rainfall ranging from 1 to 2 inches above normal, according to National Weather Service data.

Leaf color could change in a hurry with the passage of a cold front Monday night that ushered in an autumn-like air mass, Tauke said.

Collective wisdom says sunny days, cool nights and little precipitation - the forecast for the remainder of the week - tends to bring out the most brilliant autumn foliage, according to Tauke.

Hard early frosts and strong storms can shorten and dull the leaf-viewing season, he said.

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