MANSFIELD, Ohio —Today marks the first day of autumn, but that does not necessarily mean abrupt cold Ohio weather. In fact, this year it might mean additional summery days.
According to National Weather Service meteorologist Tom King, the weather forecast shows nice, dry, mild conditions through September.
“Looks like we’re going to have temperatures in the mid-upper 70s and we’ll have a low probability for precipitation. It looks dry, dry, dry,” said King.
King said the weather in Ohio is also expected to be warmer through February — possibly due to a strong El Niño year. An El Niño year, he explained, is marked by an increase in temperatures in the equatorial pacific waters.
“That water is normally cool due to upwelling. What happens is the wind changes and doesn’t support upwelling of cold water, and the equatorial sun heats up the water. When the water gets warmer, it affects the atmosphere above it and causes anomalous weather patterns,” said King.
In other words, an El Niño year typically causes warmer weather in the northern hemisphere. The opposite happens in the southern states.
Do warmer temperatures through autumn mean stalled color changes in the leaves?
Ohio State University at Mansfield Associate Professor of Plant Ecology Carol Landry said no.
“A lot of people think it’s the cold that changes the colors of leaves. That’s just not true,” said Landry.
Chlorophyll, the green pigment molecule that plants and leaves use to harvest energy from the sun, dominates what the eye sees in the summer. The reds, oranges and yellows in leaves begin to appear once chlorophyll breaks down in the leaf due to fewer hours of sunlight during autumn months, explained Landry.
“Some of those colors have always been there but didn’t show up in the summer because of the chlorophyll,” said Landry.
“So if you look at a maple tree around here, you’ll typically see the leaves start out as green, then yellow. Overtime, the yellow becomes orange, and then it turns red before it falls,” said Landry.
As the seasons change, so do community activities. Check Richland Source’s local events page for seasonal activities. Coming up Sept. 26 and 27 is the Prairie Peddler Festival in Butler. The festival will also run Oct. 3 and 4. On Sept. 26 and 27 there’s also Heritage Days from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Malabar Farm State Park, Lucas.
