Fidelio Desbradel and his wife Leonor Desbradel, of the Dominican Republic, take a selfie in front of a Tulip Magnolia tree in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. (Cliff Owen | The Associated Press)

Fidelio Desbradel and his wife Leonor Desbradel, of the Dominican Republic, take a selfie in front of a Tulip Magnolia tree in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. (Cliff Owen | The Associated Press)

Early bird special: Spring pops up super early in much of US

WASHINGTON — Spring has sprung early — potentially record early — in much of the United States, bringing celebrations of shorts weather mixed with unease about a climate gone askew.

Crocuses, tulips and other plants are popping up earlier than usual from Arizona to New Jersey and down to Florida. Washington is dotted with premature pink blossoming trees. Grackles, red-winged blackbirds and woodpeckers are just plain early birds this year.

The unseasonably warm weather has the natural world getting ahead of — even defying — the calendar, scientists said Tuesday.

In cities like Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio, spring has arrived about a month earlier than the 30-year average and about 20 days earlier than in 2012, which was the earliest spring on record.

Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Phenology Network, which studies seasonal signs, have calculated local and a national spring index based on observations of lilacs, honeysuckles and temperature records that are fed into a computer model.

The spring leaf index goes back to 1900 and 2012 has been the earliest on record. But preliminary records show this year ahead of 2012 in a good chunk of the nation.

As the world warms, spring is arriving earlier, but not everywhere. For a broad swath of the U.S., 2017 sticks out like a crocus in early February. Nashville, St. Louis, Washington, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Indianapolis are at least three weeks early on the spring index, but Phoenix and Los Angeles are running a bit late.

The latest early spring isn’t supposed to show up for decades based on computer simulations that model springs of the future, said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the private Weather Underground.

“This is basically a year 2100 sort of spring that we’re seeing this year,” Masters said. “Way surprising.”

Fox butterflies are already out in Massachusetts and New York. Beetles are scurrying around Martha’s Vineyard. Crocuses and snowdrops are in full flower in suburban Boston — all exceptionally early because of warm temperatures and little snow cover, said Boston University biology professor Richard Primack.

“I am already hearing woodpeckers knocking on tree trunks” when these sounds usually occur in March or April, said Primack, editor of the journal Biological Conservation.

The northern shoveler duck is usually the next to last duck to make it to upstate New York, arriving sometime in April, but it’s already here, said Kevin McGowan, an ornithologist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology :

These wildlife sightings stem from warm weather in February that Masters called “off-the-charts weird” that included upper 90s in Oklahoma and a first-of-its-kind February tornado in Massachusetts.

Masters and Penn State University climate scientist Michael Mann, who photographed flowers sprouting outside his central Pennsylvania house in mid-February, said this is a combination of natural weather variation and man-made warming of the climate.

Warm weather can lead to crop damage if there is a freeze in March or April after plants have already bloomed. It can also worsen droughts, which happened in 2012, Schwartz said.

Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said what’s happening is disconcerting, no matter how nice it is for people.

“Sure we can’t wait to shed our wool coats and hats each spring, but such warm temperatures are wreaking havoc, sight unseen on key crops,” Cobb said in an email. “Here in Georgia peach buds have been robbed of necessary ‘chill hours’ this winter.”

The early spring is even changing language with some calling recent weeks “alt-spring” and “March-uary.”

Penn State meteorology professor David Titley, said it feels like being on one of the recently discovered Earth-size planets around a nearby star.

“Everything is kind of familiar (weather-wise) but different. I was walking around … in my shirt sleeves and I was almost hot. In February. That’s not supposed to happen,” said the retired admiral.

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of April 13

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska) speaks to reporters about his decision to veto an education funding bill at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Dunleavy’s veto of education funding bill puts pressure on lawmakers during final month of session

Governor also previews new bill with $560 BSA increase, plus additional funds for policy initiatives.

Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, takes questions from delegates at its 90th annual Tribal Assembly on Wednesday at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Large advances, challenges to Tlingit and Haida’s sovereignty highlighted in State of the Tribe address

Emergency response during last year’s record flood a landmark moment, but Trump’s policies a concern.

Flags fly outside the Juneau Arts and Culture Center on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, shortly before the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council’s 50-year anniversary celebration the same week. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Juneau Arts and Humanities Council bans DEI on ‘public facing documents’ due to funding threat

Executive director: No events cancelled, “racial equity” and other deleted website content being rewritten.

Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, talks to fellow legislators during a break in budget debates Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska House approves draft budget with large deficit and estimated $1,400 dividend

Under-construction state operating budget now goes to Senate, which is expected to make further cuts.

Gerald Thill, 7, inspects a weathered can before placing it in a litter bag during the annual citywide cleanup in 2023. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file photo)
Community invited to come together to create a cleaner Juneau

Annual litter-free pickups from separate organizations take place Saturday in celebration of Earth Day.

People and one of their pets depart the city’s cold-weather emergency shelter in Thane on Wednesday morning, the last day it is scheduled to be open until October. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Homeless unsure about their plans, JPD more certain about theirs as warming shelter closes until fall

Police will issue 48-hour vacate notices at campsites in public areas deemed problematic, chief says.

Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage and co-chair of the House Finance Committee, in charge of the operating budget, listens to debate Monday, April 14, 2025, on the operating budget. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska House votes down symbolic antiabortion budget language, passes amendment against trans care

Debate continues this week on draft state operating budget authored by the House of Representatives.

A poster in the Native and Rural Student Center at the University of Alaska Southeast reads “Alaska is diverse, and so are our educators.” (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
University of Alaska holds virtual town hall to address fear and stress in changing federal landscape

Students, faculty and staff ask about protecting international students, Alaska Native programs.

Most Read