How do Ash trees lose their leaves?

Early this morning as I walked past the kitchen window I noticed that it seemed to be raining leaves...A steady confetti-like shower of gold. At that rate I thought; the tree will go from fully leafed to stripped bare in an hour or two.

I looked out the east window and noticed that the air was dead calm. The temperature was 26F. I stepped out into the frosty morning and looked up at the tree. The top ten feet or so were naked branches...while the rest of the tree was bushy with golden leaves. I noticed too that the top of the tree was bathed in the rising sunshine while the remaining leaves were in the shade.

Within half an hour the sun had reached the trunk of the tree and all the leaves lay at it's feet.

So what removed the leaves from this tree so suddenly?

A combination of freezing cold followed by warming sun?

Perhaps the point where the leaf attaches to the branch froze overnight and snapped. Then the morning sun melted the ice releasing the leaf to gravity.

Snow is forecast for tomorrow. Fall is short and Winter oh so long.