Today is the first day of fall. But, in Indiana it feels more like the middle of summer. And, it may be the middle of next week before it really feels like it’s time to trade the mower for the rake. We are in the middle of a late season heat wave as high temperatures will be in the 90s all weekend and at least through Monday. Weather experts predict cooler air will finally start to work in to Indiana by the middle of next week, with 80 for the high on Wednesday, and temperatures back into the 70s by Thursday. High temperatures could break records today and tomorrow.
Meanwhile, State forestry officials say Indiana’s recent dry spell could shorten and dim the state’s fall foliage season. The state Department of Natural Resources says the brightest fall colors are produced by bright, warm days, cool nights and moist soils. While the entire state has enjoyed bright, warm days, the DNR says scant recent rainfall threatens to dim the fall colors in some areas and bring that foliage down earlier than normal. Carrie Tauscher oversees the Division of Forestry’s Community & Urban Forestry program. She says officials in southern Indiana’s tourist towns such as Nashville and Madison shouldn’t worry about the dry weather’s impact on fall colors. Tauscher says sassafras and sweetgum trees in forest understories and along roadsides will produce vivid red, orange and yellow colors in the coming weeks.