Despite temperatures still sitting around 80 degrees during the hottest parts of the day, fall is officially here. Leaves in Northern Nevada are beginning to change colors, too, but it’s not simply to do with the date on the calendar. Leaves change based on environmental factors such as the water year, the temperature, and the angle of the sun.
“During the growing season, you're going to notice that the leaves are green. And that's because of chlorophyll,” said Angela Schilling, a meteorologist with 2 News Nevada. “The green color is related to chlorophyll, which is also related to the amount of sunlight that we get. So, during the growing season, the sun angle is going to be pretty high. But then once we get into the fall season, the sun angle lowers so you're not getting as much sunlight.”
Therefore, the green color fades and the leaves morph into another color before they fall. The specific color a leaf changes to is due to the different tree types and the sugars a tree has.
Water also plays a role in the leaves changing, but it's more about the vibrancy of the color the leaves change to.
“Common misconception is that it has been dry mainly because we had a snow drought,” said Dawn Johnson, a Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “But we look at the amount of liquid precipitation. If we're talking rain or snow melt that has fallen, you're actually near or just slightly above normal for the water year for pretty much all of our basins.”
Since the area had an average water year, the colors of the leaves will be as vibrant as the year before. During a drier year, they would be more muted.
The peak time of year for all of the leaves to have changed is during late October for the area.
To learn more about leaves and their changes, go here: Fall Foliage Map 2026: Daily Updates and Forecasts!
