By Kristen Mack
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Washington Redskins fans are used to the scenic backdrop outside FedEx Field matching their team's colors in late October. Burgundy and gold leaves on trees surrounding the stadium in Landover usually accent their ride up the escalator to their seats.

That is not the case this fall. At Sunday's game, some fans noted the lack of changing color on the trees. Most of the leaves haven't even dropped yet, making this fall one of the latest in recent memory. In many neighborhoods, the sound of leaf blowers and rakes has been muted.

The National Weather Service doesn't keep official records of when leaves start to turn, but specialists say the unusually warm temperatures and lack of rain have led to an abnormal fall. Severe drought can delay the onset of fall color by a few weeks, according to the Virginia Department of Forestry, and a period of warm temperatures also will lower the intensity of the colors.

"Leaves haven't been as showy because of the stress trees are under," said John Zalewski, a manager at Professional Grounds, a landscaping company in Lorton. "You don't get the mosaic you normally see because of the drought earlier this year. It's the rain and wind that drive how quickly [leaves] drop."

The impact from the prolonged summer drought has "diminished somewhat," according to Jim DeCarufel, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. October's rainfall of 6.5 inches was double the month's average, and more rain is in the forecast this week.

"It was extremely beneficial. It's gone from a severe drought to a moderate one for most of the area," DeCarufel said. "It's weakened thanks to some of the rain we've gotten lately, but rainfall is still below normal" over the long term.

Through midnight Sunday, a little more than 34 inches of rain had been tallied at Reagan National Airport this year. That's about six inches below normal.

Expect more rain this week. "We're talking a slow drizzle, though, not a prolonged downpour," DeCarufel said. "Generally, after each event, it will be half an inch or less."

Along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, the peak season for fall colors is mid- to late October, usually a week or two ahead of the Washington area. Not this year.

"This year we had many trees quickly change into their autumn wardrobes in late September," the National Park Service's latest fall color report said. "This was followed by a few weeks of very little color change. Then, in just the last week or two, many trees that seemed as though they weren't going to show off much color this year suddenly burst into beautiful displays of fall foliage."

Paula Cross of Woodbridge said of a recent drive through the Shenandoah park area: "The colors aren't pretty. They aren't as brilliant as normal."

Meanwhile, her lawn has been brown all fall. "It doesn't seem to change. No matter what you do, it's so dry, it's never enough. As much as we hate the rain, we realize we need it."

Janelle Jones of Nokesville said she lost a lot of her azaleas this fall. Even with mandatory water restrictions in some jurisdictions, her family imposes its own restraint.

"We don't water much of anything outside," Jones said. "We have a well, and we are always afraid we could run out of water."

Don Pullen of Orange, Va., has a similar fear, so he takes "Navy showers."

"I get wet and turn the water off while I lather up," he said of this bathing practices during drought season.

He has taken note of what's happening outdoors. "Leaves seem to be staying on the trees longer, because it's too warm or something," he said.

Like many people, Pullen did not rake many leaves in October but said his raking routine will probably pick up after this week.

By the end of this month, lawn maintenance companies will begin to see a spike in calls for leaf removal.

"Once everything is down and people get tired of raking or realize they can't do it themselves, they call us," said Julie Kane of Kane Lawn and Landscapes. "Leaves aren't coming down like they usually do, and they aren't in full color. There's no color; they are just brown."