National Phenology Institute: Spring Arriving In SE U.S. Earlier Than Any Time In 39-Yr. Record

[hatrack]

Spring leaf index anomaly in the continental United States, 1 January 2020 – 7 March 2020. In parts of the Southeast U.S., the arrival of spring in 2020 is the earliest in the 39-year record. Graphic: National Phenology Network

Across the south-eastern US, trees are unfurling their clouds of leaves after winter. Yet this picturesque and usually welcome development is this year cause for consternation. New data from the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) shows that in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and northern Florida, spring has arrived more than three weeks earlier than average, and earlier than at any point in the last 39 years it has been tracked.

The south-eastern US has historically experienced a large amount of variability in the onset of spring, so it is hard to say the climate crisis is directly responsible. Yet this year’s premature spring is part of a trend of rising temperatures and early leaf emergence that scientists have observed in recent years.

Phenologists – who study seasonal phenomena in the natural world – calculate the start of spring based on observations of “leaf-outs” (the appearance of tiny leaves on trees), blooms for species active in early spring (such as lilac and honeysuckle) and weather events and temperature conditions. The Extended Spring Indices have been used as an indicator of climate change by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the National Climate Assessment.

A 2016 study by the National Park Service found that of the 276 parks studied, three-quarters are experiencing the impacts of an early onset of spring, and half of the parks are experiencing an “extreme” early onset, as compared to historical averages. This 2020 early spring is currently affecting such beloved parks as Congaree in South Carolina and parts of Great Smoky Mountains on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. [more]

EDIT

https://desdemonadespair.net/2020/03/spring-2020-in-southern-u-s-arrives-earlier-than-ever-recorded-adding-to-climate-trend.html

[2naSalit]

1. Up here in the northern Rockies too.

All the bulbs are up, started two weeks ago, buds on trees, songbirds are already here. It was in the 60s the last few days, and 55 last night. Now it's 33 and snowing but the ground is no longer frozen so it will be gone by tonight.

[CousinIT]

2. Yep. I've had to move up Spring yard plans at least 2 weeks.

All the Spring things are leaving out and pollen is here 2-3 weeks EARLY!

I've never seen this in all the years I've lived in this area (over 20)