Today may be the most visually spectacular day in New York since heavy snow turned Manhattan into a winter wonderland during the Blizzard of 1996. Not only is the foliage a perfect blend of red and yellow, but also we have bright sunshine and temperatures near 80--an unusual combination for early November.

Ideal fall foliage requires specific weather conditions in the early and middle autumn. You need enough days with sunshine, warm afternoons and cool nights. Obviously we had this, but it's surprising given all the rain we appear to have had as well--the reservoirs are full, compared to their normal level of 70% this time of year.

In addition, the sun angle is just right. It's low enough to have allowed for the foliage to unfold, but just high enough to have burned off the dense fog this morning. In winter, fog tends to stick around all day, but today there is enough mixing down of dry air to scour out the moisture despite high dewpoints and southerly winds.