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As fall officially begins at 3:20 p.m. on Wednesday, it will be early October before locals in this region begin to see the brilliant reds, oranges and yellows that characterize the season.
The fall equinox takes place at 3:20 p.m. on Wednesday, said Matt Steinbugl, a meteorologist with the State College’s National Weather Service.
At this celestial moment, the sun’s rays are directly on the equator, he said.
Earth has three rings. The equator is in the middle, the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere and the Tropic of Cancer, north of the equator. Earth tilts in space, he said.
In winter, the sun’s rays are on the tropic of Capricorn. In the spring, the sun’s rays are again on the equator and in the summer on the Tropic of Cancer, he said.
As the days get shorter and the temperatures cooler, the calm green palette of summer foliage transforms into a vivid fall canvas of reds, oranges, russets and golden yellows before the leaves fall from the trees. trees.
According to Craig Evanego, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, there is a “strong enough” a cold front is expected to hit the city from Wednesday to Thursday, with temperatures in the latter part of the week “to feel a little more fall”.
“After that (cold front), it seems cooler and drier in season” he said.
The city is expected to experience daytime temperatures around 75 degrees on Wednesday with afternoon showers likely, around a 60% chance.
As the cold front passes, which comes from the west-central, showers will be more likely Wednesday evening, with a change of about 70% with lows of around 60 degrees.
Earlier this week, Evanego said temperatures are “near above normal” with highs around 75 Monday with a low of 57 Monday night. Tuesday is expected to see roughly the same high temperatures with a slight chance of showers, 30%, overnight lows around 63 according to the National Weather Service.
Evanego said temperatures from Thursday to Saturday would stay about the same, with highs in the 70s, Thursday being the coolest, with a 50% chance of showers.
Weekend lows will be in the 50s with Thursday night being the coolest around 52 degrees.
In the city, park trees begin to transform until they reach their peak of color in early to mid-October, depending on the weather, said Chad Eckert, the city’s arborist and forester in the city. city streets and parks service.
The foliage begins to show its many hues when the chlorophyll in the leaves begins to decompose. This is due to changes in the length of daylight and temperature as the leaves shut down their food-making process, according to the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which provides a description of this. phenomenon and a weekly fall foliage tracking card on its website.
The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color fades, and the yellow to orange colors become visible and give the leaves some of their fall splendor, the site says.
Pennsylvania has a longer and more varied fall foliage season than any other state in the country, according to the department.
In this region, the map of the department shows the state of the foliage in the state forests of Tiadaghton, Sproul and Susquehannock. The user of the site only has to click on the number corresponding to the forests and the information will be displayed.
For the level further north to northwest of Lycoming County, there is a site for the Pine Creek Valley.
In areas closer to State College, the site is for Poe Valley.
To reach the foliage scenic drive closest to Williamsport, the user is directed on the map to the departure point for the Borough of Jersey Shore. From there, the user is invited to walk up Route 44 northwest from its intersection with Route 220.
This drive is considered to be one of the finest foliage displays in the state.
Mallorie McIlwain, Sun-Gazette staff member
contributed to this report.
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