The Lake Of The Ozarks is abuzz this week with the OSS National Championships being held this weekend. A few of the boats have been sighted practicing near the waters surrounding Tan-Tar-A Resort and the excitement is almost at a fever pitch. For power boaters, this is Christmas in September and the staff at Atlantis Island Condos are like kids in a candy store!
Another significant event is also taking place this week, although it is being overshadowed by the boat races. Today is the first day of Autumn and people who call the Lake “home” can attest that The Lake Of The Ozarks puts on a world class showing with the colorful leaf displays. The variety of trees lends to the rainbow of colors. Blackgum, Sweet Gum, Hickory, Sassafrass, Maple, Sycamore, Flowering Dogwoods, and Oak are paintbrushes in the autumn palate. Shermanstravel.com has picked the area as a “Top 10 Fall Foliage Destination” and you would be hard pressed to find a leaf peeper who would disagree.
I spoke with KY3’s Morning/Noon Meteorologist, Brandon Beck, via email, last week to get his thoughts on the “state of the leaves” for 2008:
Brandon Beck: According to Francis Skalicky from the MO Department of Conservation, the rain we’ve had doesn’t automatically equate to a lot of color. The trees are very healthy because of the moisture, and they’ve got more leaves than they’ve had the last couple of years. But, the COLOR comes from the warm days and cool nights from now through the middle of October.
AIC: How long do you project the Fall foliage "season" to last this year?
BB: Typically the peak of the color lasts a couple weeks.
AIC: When do you think will be the peak "viewing" of the color splashes?
BB: The only thing to go by is the average over the years, which is about the third week of October.
So mark your calendars and make a date with Mother Nature the third week of October to enjoy the brilliant, fiery colors!
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