Jenna Ladd | September 26, 2017
Tree leaves in Iowa began changing colors and falling to the ground earlier than usual this year due to drought conditions.
Leaf color change has a lot to do with weather conditions, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The U.S. Drought Portal reveals that about thirty percent of Iowa is currently seeing abnormally dry conditions and about twenty-five percent of the state is experiencing moderate drought.
Kandyce Weigel is the administrative assistant of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ State Forest Nursery. She told the Des Moines Register, “When they (trees) don’t have enough moisture, they’ll start to go into dormancy. 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.”
In a typical year, leaves change color in northern Iowa between the last week of September and the second week of October, from the first to third weeks of October in central Iowa and from the second week through the end of October in southern Iowa.
Unfortunately, dry conditions cause leaves to die and fall from trees before they burst into autumn’s hues of red, yellow and orange.