The Times Argus has an article about climate change impacts in Vermont entitled, “Climate change affects fall and winter transitions in Vermont” (subscription required). An excerpt (note the last paragraph):
Data taken over the past four decades show significant changes in Vermont’s climate. The fall transition is coming later by about 2 days per decade. Over the past forty years, the growing season for frost-sensitive plants has increased by 2 weeks; and for frost-hardy plants the growing season may have increased by as much as three to four weeks.
This fall was very unusual. We had a remarkable 10 inches of rain in October, and so there were few frosts because the ground and air were so wet. This extended the fall foliage season. The first part of November has been marked by several hard frosts and most recently, the first snowfall of the season.
Autumn is considered by many the most beautiful season in Vermont. The leaves turn brilliant colors of red, orange and yellow — a seasonal burst that attracts many tourists to the Green Mountain State. Forests cover almost 80 percent of Vermont, and roughly one in every four trees is a maple. Almost half of the Northeast’s commercial woodlands consist of maple, beech and birch.
The USDA Forest Service projects that oaks and hickories, which predominate in warmer placers like Virginia and now account for less than 15 percent of Vermont woodlands, will overshadow the state’s maples by the end of the century. Leaf-peepers attracted by the red, yellow and orange foliage of maple, birch and beech may see those colors shifting to the blander browns characteristic of oaks and hickories.
A recent report “The Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment,” sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists, explains that Vermont’s climate is warming and is in for significant changes. Between 2040 and 2069, Vermont’s climate will shift to that of Pennsylvania’s now. And if we continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels, by late century Vermont’s climate will shift farther to the south, more similar to that currently experienced in the Mid-Atlantic states.
JASON J. CZARNEZKI 