Fall colors spread east in Virginia

Fall colors are entering their prime now in the southern and central Appalachian chain! Foliage spotters are now reporting "Moderate Color" for the western Piedmont to the West Virginia-Virginia state line, with "Low Color" for the rest of Virginia:

Ideal conditions have been in place for great Fall colors. The favorable factors include: last week's stretch of cool nights and sunny afternoons, combined with previous recent rains that keep the ground moist. In addition, leaf drop remains very low in central and eastern Virginia, with most of the leaves approaching peak colors remaining on the trees right now:

(Maps provided by foliage spotters at The Foliage Network)
Virginia forest experts predict this Fall season in our region will be ideal for leaf peeping and excellent color change through the rest of October into November. We are still on track for peak colors to occur right on cue for an average Fall season in Virginia:

This weekend's dry, sunny weather will be perfect for exploring the changing colors across Virginia! Get outdoors and enjoy if you can!
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose

Aftershock felt at 12:40PM Wednesday

A magnitude 3.0 aftershock rumbled southwest of Mineral mid-day Wednesday, the fifth largest and the 41st aftershock since the initial magnitude 5.8 earthquake on August 23, 2011. Today's aftershock occurred at 12:40 PM Wednesday, October 12. The US Geological Survey reports this aftershock was a magnitude 3.0, located six miles southwest of Mineral, Virginia. This is in the same general area as the majority of the aftershocks have been clustered. Here is a map of the aftershock's location, with the distance measured relative to downtown Richmond:

Louisa County Middle School briefly evacuated when the aftershock occurred.

As mentioned, today's aftershock is the fifth largest since the initial 5.8 earthquake. Here's the list of strongest aftershocks:

4.5 at 1:07 AM August 25
4.2 at 8:04 PM August 23
3.4 at 12:45 PM August 23
3.4 at 5:09 AM September 1
3.0 at 12:40 PM October 12

Stay with CBS 6, we'll keep you updated.
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose

Fall Colors Update