‘Spectacular’ autumn foliage is forecast for New England

By WILLIAM J. KOLE
Today

BOSTON (AP) — New England’s fall foliage forecast is looking so fine it’s enough to make a maple leaf blush.

For the first time in several years, little has conspired against a truly glorious autumn. There’s no more drought, the summer has been mild and the leaves — largely spared by marauding gypsy moth caterpillars — look healthy.

Translation: A pretty great season for leaf peeping seems to be shaping up.

“It’s the most optimistic forecast I’ve had in a couple of years,” said Jim Salge, who tracks the region’s annual autumn pageant for Yankee Magazine.

“The biggest thing that can go wrong with foliage is a really wet couple of weeks leading up,” Salge cautioned. “We’ll really need that typical fall weather in New England — warm, sunny days and cool, crisp nights — to make it pop. But we’ve had a great setup.”

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