Courtesy: Kay K. Yost
PHILADELPHIA - What do the trees and lawns look like near you?
This week, there have been reports of trees suddenly dropping a lot of their leaves. While the windy weather earlier in the week helped some leaves fall off, some trees are dropping their leaves because it has been so dry.
FOX 29 viewer Maureen Alfieri says the peach tree in her backyard, in New Castle County, Delaware, lost most of its leaves overnight.
Courtesy: Maureen Alfieri
Another viewer in the Lehigh Valley, Kay K. Yost, noticed how bare a pair of trees were in Allentown. She happened to have a picture of the same two trees from early October 2022 and 2023 when they had lots of leaves. This year, they hardly have any.
FOX 29 talked to Ryan Reed at the Pennsylvania Forestry Service about how the dry weather affects trees and the fall color.
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Ryan Reed, Pa. Forest Service | Tracking Fall Color
Ryan Reed, with the Pennsylvania Forest Service, talks about the recent dry stretch and why leaves are falling from trees early.
He said, "As with any living thing, trees experience stress from lack of water. When trees are stressed from lack of water, they shed some leaves earlier than usual because the leaves can't be supported. If we [headed] into fall with a lot of rainy days, the leaves would remain on the trees for a longer period of time."
If you notice any trees that suddenly drop most of their leaves this weekend, let us know! Send in your pictures to our socials, and let us know where you saw it.
Learn more about the drought conditions across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.