Hints of fall color are on display this weekend. Northern Minnesota is home to the most extensive color, with 30 to 50 percent of its trees in the midst of annual change.
Drought and the summer’s unseasonably mild temperatures are expected to impact this year’s colors and may well alter the timetable for their appearance. But, the Midwest as a whole is still weeks away from this year’s peak color display. The peak usually arrives in the Chicago area toward mid-October.
Area residents were treated overnight to some of the coolest temperatures since July with 40s in the western suburbs. The chilly night follows the area’s heaviest rain in nearly two months a night earlier. Midway Airport’s 0.76” was the most there since 0.86” fell back on July 26. Other heavy area totals included 1.08” at Park Forest, 1.68” at Watseka and 0.82” at Valparaiso, Ind.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
