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and a fourth bonus stage: White Stage: Any part of meteorological fall when long lasting snowpack and consistent freezing temps has settled in. Many places don't have a "white stage" but colder climates do. However, if it's a warmer autumn, they may not have a "white stage" at all.
What do you think of these classifications? When do you experience them where you live and what weather do you personally associate with 'em?
Up here, the green stage lasts from September 1st through maybe the first week or so of October. The gold stage from about mid October through late October, maybe right before Halloween, and the brown stage from late October through November. If we get a white stage, it'll be the week of or after Thanksgiving, most likely.
I think that's pretty good. I'm in New York City area. Meteorologists generally consider fall to be September, October and November. Others use September 6 to December 5, the definition I prefer. That segments out as "summer" the warmest 91 ir so days on a mean basis and winter as the coldest such days. New York City doesn't usually have a lasting snowpack. However, historically, deep, accumulating snows that linger for a week or two on the ground usually starts around December 6. In 2002 we had one such snow the day before. We have had substantial accumulating snows as early as October 29, 2011 and November 7, 2012, the so-called "son of Sandy." And last year, November 15 brought over 6". Those are rare enough to be memorable, and don't linger.
Ditto snows after March 6 or so. 1996 and 2018 brought a batch of later snows. Memorable later snows were the "Storm of the Century", March 12-13, 1993, the Blizzard of 1888 and April 7, 1982. Those fall in the category of "rare enough to be memorable.
As far as warmth, there are hot post-September 6 days. However, New York's latest 100° is just before then. And 90's do happen but very rarely take the form of three-day in a row periods necessary for heat wave classification. That, of course, leaves spring and fall, the latter of which is the subject of this thread.
So glad I live in a place that the trees are alive all year long. So glad I can go to the beach or sit by the pool when others are trying to stay warm.
So glad I live in a place that the trees are alive all year long. So glad I can go to the beach or sit by the pool when others are trying to stay warm.
You are aware that deciduous trees are still alive after they drop their leaves right? And I'm sure there are plenty of deciduous trees in southern California anyway.
Inland valleys of California:
Gold stage--July-September, when everything is dry
Green--October-November, rains are back
Gray--December--January, tule fog
In the PNW, autumn begins when the summer drought breaks. The weather will be mild with showers. The weed seeds in your lawn sprout. The first storms start rolling in off the Pacific, usually in early November. That will knock the leaves off the trees and flood all the gutters and storm drains.
Leaf color depends on how dry the summer was, since trees will shed leaves to conserve moisture. This week I compared a photo from three years ago, when the leaves were a riot of color, to the verdant green of today. The difference is that three years ago was an extreme drought, and this has been a normal water year.
Weather here normally trails the calendar by about a month. If you expect spring to begin on the equinox, you will be sorely disappointed.
You are aware that deciduous trees are still alive after they drop their leaves right? And I'm sure there are plenty of deciduous trees in southern California anyway.
Fall is when my velvet ash turns yellow and the orange tree shakes off its fruit. Nothing else in my yard loses leaves or changes color (thankfully!).
Interestingly, a local tree called the Western Sycamore already begins losing its leaves by now. The leaves are large and numerous so there is no escaping the fall experience where we live. The local oaks (the ones that aren't evergreen) drop them in December through February. Winter never comes though
Green Stage: The beginning. Everything still looks like summer for the most part. There's still flowers, the grass and leaves are still green. Sunflowers are at their most abundant. There's a coming chill at night but the day is still warm, though not as frequently hot as in summer (in a normal year). The first signs of the leaves changing come, but it's spotty. This is generally the ideal time for most state/county fairs. Thunderstorms and rain showers are fairly common.
Late August to mid October. Leaves only change in this time period (except towards the end) due to drought if at all, it's consistently hot to late September and mainly hot for this whole period.
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Gold Stage: The peak. The most idyllic part. Shorter in some areas, longer in others. The fall weather has settled in. Temps most likely will be between low 40s to mid 60s. Less thunderstorms, some showers and gloomy days but a lot of dry, blue sky days. This is when the leaves are peaking. Red, yellow, gold, purple, orange, all the colours. Apples are ripe as are pumpkins. Mine (and most people's) favourite parts of fall. A lot of leaves everywhere. In colder climates, frost may start in this period. Snow flurries may fall but it's fleeting. In warmer, milder climates, frost is still a bit aways.
Late October to early November. Frosts are frequent but just beginning. Hard freezes are uncommon. However, this stage is warmer on average than you describe.
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Brown Stage: After the peak. The beginning of this stage will still have leaves but soon after it's just sticks. The grass, depending on climate and weather, will turn yellow or brown. It often gets greyer, damper, foggier. The rain is more drizzly. Snow flurries become an expected occurrence in colder areas. The first accumulating snow is likely to come here, but not last long. The phrase "winter is coming" comes to mind. For warmer climates, this is basically how winter is.
Mid November to mid February. This is followed by the return of Cherry Blossoms and Bradford Pears in late February. Pansies often still bloom in this time period, and quite a few other flowers can around the beginning and end of this period. We almost always get our snow within this period, with snowfall in March and April rare.
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and a fourth bonus stage: White Stage: Any part of meteorological fall when long lasting snowpack and consistent freezing temps has settled in. Many places don't have a "white stage" but colder climates do. However, if it's a warmer autumn, they may not have a "white stage" at all.
Never. We live in a subtropical climate. Our winters are too mild for even transient snow cover; we have snow cover no more than 10% of the time in winter. A few hardy palms can grow here with little trouble.
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What do you think of these classifications?
They're great! They're not perfect, but nothing is.
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