Leaf-peepers are getting an extra-early preview of eye-popping fall foliage.
The pre-Labor Day burst of red and burgundy is largely confined to maples in wetlands. Those wetlands are much wetter than usual for this time of year, due to the summer's heavy rains. The early color is spectacular in some spots.
"It exactly looks like a fall picture," the state's head landscaper, Guy Giunta, said of one particular colorful roadside panorama along Route 101 West.
Similar views, though less dramatic, can be seen in Derry, Hampstead, Windham and elsewhere in Southern New Hampshire.
Giunta has noticed it and so have others who spend a lot of time outdoors, as well as travelers.
Danville Animal Control Officer Sheila Johannesen said she doesn't usually see as much color as she is seeing now, even in wetlands, until well into September.
"I'm amazed that it is coming this early," she said.
New Hampshire Cooperative Extension forester Phil Auger has an explanation for the early show.
Auger says these trees, which have adapted to grow in wet areas, usually stand on dry ground in late summer. But because the ground is so wet this year, the tree roots are oxygen starved and the stressed trees have quit producing the green pigment chlorophyll, Auger said.
There is far less oxygen in water than soil, and the tree roots need oxygen.
The ground in Rockingham County is as wet now as it was in May, he said.
A few weeks ago, the ground was as wet as it was in April, Auger said.
"Very bizarre," he said.
The National Weather Service reports that July's nearly 6.5 inches of rain was the 10th wettest in 140 years in Concord. Normal rainfall for July in Concord is about 3.4 inches. So far in August, Concord has received 4.7 inches of rain, almost 2 inches more than the normal 2.7 inches of rainfall for the month.
The next group of trees whose leaves will change color will be old and ailing trees, including roadside sugar maples that are subject to a lot of salt, Auger said.
The arboreal color bursts have some thinking autumn is arriving early, but he says the main attraction will arrive on time, triggered by diminishing daylight.
The peak fall foliage schedule in New Hampshire will descend from north to south from the last week in September to the first few weeks in October, Auger said.
Still, the early color is making some people eager for the real deal.
Johannesen plans to travel north soon to see it.
The supervisor at the Salem Welcome Center off Interstate 93 said visitors want to know the exact date when all the leaves will turn brilliant orange and red.
Supervisor Ruth Godfrey can't tell them this.
But she said she has noticed the color coming out on a young tree behind the center.
