The brilliance of Connecticut's fall foliage will depend largely on the weather over the next several days, an expert said. While there was plenty of rain, there was not much heat, Marrotte said, so the quality of foliage will depend heavily on the weather for about the next week to about 10 days. Some trees are still hurting from the parched summer of '95. These trees, stressed by the weather, are starting to turn colors already. Colors are created in the leaves when the right combination of sunlight, moisture and temperature traps sugars.
Sunny days get the sugars pumping, while cool nights bottle the sugars in the leaves.
The sugars react with other chemicals to produce the pigments that brighten the leaves. Some trees' leaves are already getting moldy and blighted from the weather. State Forester Don Smith is optimistic. Connecticut foliage usually peaks around Columbus Day weekend, but since the weather has put crops about two weeks behind schedule, some experts expect foliage will also be delayed.