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Kentucky fall colors ready to break out

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kentuckytourism.com

It’s about time for fall colors to show up in trees across the Bluegrass state. A man who keeps up with fall foliage says it’s shaping up to be a banner display.

State Park Naturalist Robert Myers is not promising vivid leaf colors over the next few weeks. He said there remain a lot of factors in play. We've got to have falling overnight temperatures at the right time and not too much wind. But, Myers said, the setup looks good.

“The key to these colors was all the growing season. We’ve had excellent amount of rainfall and not a lot of hot days. We’ve been, a few 90’s, but not a lot,” said Myers.

Myers said that compares to dry drought years when trees were stressed, and colors diminished. Myers noted big fall players like oaks, hickories, and maples, by and large, haven’t turned yet. The park naturalist added the peak period for those bright yellows and reds is typically about the third week of October in eastern Kentucky, maybe the fourth week for the rest of the Commonwealth.

Here's State Park Naturalist Robert Myers discussing leaf color predictions:

4ROBERTLEAFWEB.mp3

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Stu has been reporting for WEKU for more than 35 years. His primary beat is Lexington/Fayette government.