Here's why you noticed all of the red leaves this weekend

ATLANTA — If you noticed this weekend, while orange and yellow colors fade some in the leaves – the red colors absolutely popped this weekend around metro Atlanta.

Leaves change color in fall with the production of chlorophyll – what colors leaves green – shuts down. Trees try to take and store as much energy from the fading leaves as possible for the winter.

While orange and yellow colors happen because of the lack of a chemical, leaves turn red because a new one is actually produced – anthocyanin.

It’s believed this production is maximized when we have a cold mornings followed by sunny days – we’ve finally gotten into a series of these days over the last several weeks, likely amplifying the red coloring.

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Cox Media Group