Dry weather does affect fall scenery

Just Ask

Q: I've been wondering this, since it's been such a dry and hot summer. Does that kind of weather make fall foliage occur earlier or later, or does it happen at about the same time? Also, will we have much foliage?

A: It seems the weather has been the talk of the Shoals in recent months, from the drought to the lingering heat.

At least we finally are supposed to get a break from the heat this week.

As for your question, I talked with Johnnie Everitt, manager of the Colbert County Forestry Office.

He said autumn foliage typically reaches its peak shortly after the Tennessee foliage does. That means it often occurs around late October and early November.

The buildup already is under way, however, and normally continues throughout this month. "You'll start noticing black-gum trees and others start turning a little earlier," Everitt said. "Personally, I think, with the dry weather, the trees may lose their leaves a little earlier than normal.

"They're going to be under stress because of the heat and drought. Hopefully, they'll hang on for a while and give us a good fall season."

Everitt said several factors, such as shortened daylight hours, affect leaf color, so it's not just heat and dryness.

"I'm not sure we'll have the foliage colors we've had in the past this year, because they'll start losing leaves earlier than normal," he said.

By the way, the Alabama Department of Tourism and Travel has a color-coded update on foliage on various locations throughout the state. Those locations include local spots such as the Natchez Trace, Joe Wheeler State Park and Bankhead National Forest.

The site can be reached at 800alabama.com/things-to-do/tours-trails/fall-color.

Q: This might sound crazy, but it seems like the numbers in the 35 mph speed-limit signs are not the same size. It seems like the 5 is thicker than the 3. I wondered if that is so, and, if so, did highway workers do so to stress that it's different from 30 mph?

A: Mark Dale, project engineer for the local Alabama Department of Transportation office, isn't aware of any changes in sizes of numbers on the signs.

"There should be no reason that they're different sizes of widths," Dale said. "They should be the same."

Dale said the standard 35 mph speed-limit sign is 24-by-30 inches.

The sign is called a "10-inch E series," he said. That means the numbers should be 10 inches high, and their width should be 7.9 inches each.

For what it's worth, from what I've seen, the numbers appear to be equal sizes.

And, believe me, ever since I've received this question, I can't see a 35-mph sign without giving it a close look.

Staff Writer Bernie Delinski writes Just Ask, which runs Wednesdays in the TimesDaily. If you've got a question, e-mail it to justask@timesdaily.com, fax it to 740-4717 or send it to Just Ask, c/o TimesDaily, P.O. Box 797, Florence, AL 35631.