Kevin Myatt is The Roanoke Times' weather columnist.

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Each fall, I get questions about what kind of fall foliage we're going to have.

I know quite a bit about weather, but much less about the biology of leaves. I need some expert help.

To that end, I found some information on the Internet from North Carolina State University forestry professor Robert Bardon that explains some of what we might expect. He was talking specifically about North Carolina, but Virginia's topography and climate are very similar.

Drought, Bardon says, speeds up the color change cycle in leaves. They go from green to various colors to brown and then fall off much more quickly than they would with normal moisture.

So it's not that drought will cause trees not to have color, but that the window of fall hues might be much more narrow. So if you see color, get out quickly.

Generally speaking, the drought has been worse to the south of Roanoke, so the longer-lasting, brighter colors would seem more likely north of Roanoke.

The drought has been mitigated by heavier rain from summer thunderstorm clusters in some areas, and by at least three widespread rains over the past month.

Bardon says that in North Carolina, there will likely be pockets of better color based on local weather quirks such as these. He also encourages people to get out and see the changing leaves regardless of the expected quality of the hues.

"Nature always gives us something to see," Bardon said in the online news release. "The leaves may not be the brightest this year but with the landscape changing there is always something new and different to observe."