A Cold Snap Could Trigger Fall Color in the Northern Sierra and Shasta Cascade

NORTHERN SIERRA

15-30% — Plumas County.  The native foliage in Plumas county is presently two weeks from peak.  Often, exotic, ornamental trees lead the show and that’s true near the Beckwourth Ranger Station in Graeagle where the exotics are attracting interest with their bright colors.

Could the leaves be confused in Plumas County?  That’s Annette’s contention.  She works at Gray Eagle Lodge in the Lakes Basin area and has seen other areas of her county changing while her area has seen little change.  More likely, the color has been late to arrive because of the weather.

Until today, the weather has been temperate, but colder weather is arriving including a dusting of snow in the high country.  If the cold snap is limited to nighttime with days remaining warm, ideal conditions would exist to “get the color process going.  The best conditions for fall color are warm days and cold nights.

SHASTA CASCADE

15-30% — Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Shanda from the National Park visitor center reports that willow, serviceberry and currant are beginning to show at Hat Lake.  Shrubs and grasses have also turned.  The national park’s many groves of quaking aspen are still a couple of weeks from peak.

HIGH SIERRA

15-30% — CA-88.  Still a lot of green and lime-green showing, though groves of aspen are beginning to flicker in the Hope Valley (Carson Pass).