WEST MICHIGAN- “Autumnal Equinox.” You’ve probably heard those words thrown around at some point. If not at the same time, at least the word “autumn” is probably familiar. This day signifies the first day of Fall, as most of us refer to it.
The earth’s orbit around the sun varies the amount of sunlight each place on earth receives, thus creating our seasons. The Autumnal Equinox for the Northern Hemisphere means that in this transition to a different season, all areas on earth will roughly see the same amount of daylight as they do night time.
Even if you can’t get behind the “everything pumpkin” craze, you can probably agree on the beauty of the leaves changing. Generally in West Michigan, we’ll see the peak of our fall colors sometime in October.
Many things affect fall colors and how quickly the leaves change. Temperature and amount of rainfall are just a couple of the factors that can affect the timing and colors of the leaves.
Current fall colors map shows that there is little to no change in our leaves. I’m sure you’ve seen some patchy portions of the trees change, but nothing really widespread yet. It looks as if it will stay fairly true to the map above this year. You can always submit your fall photos to our FOX 17 Facebook page if you’d like a chance for your photo to be shared on air. For more updates on fall foliage and the weather to go along with it, visit http:://fox17online.com/weather
