HAYDENVILLE — If you haven’t gotten around to leaf-peeping yet, local weatherman Dave Hayes “The Weather Nut” recommends making time on Tuesday —a Nor’easter set to sweep through the region on Wednesday has the potential to blow down “a substantial portion of foliage,” he said.
“There’s always that one storm that finally blows a lot of the leaves down, and this could be that,” Hayes told the Gazette on Monday. “So if people want to get out and see the foliage, it would probably be a good time to see that.”
The storm, which will bring rain and wind to Hampshire County, is set to begin mid or late afternoon Wednesday, Hayes said, although the brunt of it will hit Wednesday night and possibly last into Thursday morning.
After last autumn’s notably dull foliage, the famously vibrant New England leaves have made a comeback this season thanks to favorable weather patterns.
This season has seen sunny days and cool nights, Hayes said, which serves as the ideal recipe for a colorful fall. Last year’s muted hues resulted from continuously hot and humid weather, according to Hayes.
Regardless of whether the leaves reach their full potential, foliage enthusiasts flock to the region each autumn, said Dick Zimmer, co-owner of the Penrose Victorian Inn in Haydenville.
“We’ve been very busy,” Zimmer said. “The leaves are very, very spectacular this year. A lot of oranges, reds, yellows — they’re quite brilliant.”
In addition to the foliage, parents weekends at local colleges and an abundance of weddings also make the season one of the busier times of the year, Zimmer noted.
While “anywhere in western Massachusetts” boasts excellent foliage, Zimmer said, he recommends the Chesterfield Gorge as a particularly worthwhile visit.
For Hayes, the area surrounding the Orchard Hill section of the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus stands out as a favorite destination for leaf-peeping, though he noted that the entire I-91 corridor in northern Hampshire County and southern Franklin County “looks really lovely right now.”
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.