When Exactly Is The First Day Of Spring......

[Laxman]

because it appears that our conceptions need to be drastically altered. I'm no fan of Winter, but this might be problematic. As I found myself saying last year-"nothing says Christmas in New Jersey quite like the cherry trees in bloom".

Spring is running 20 days early. It’s exactly what we expect, but it’s not good.

As much as spring is welcome when it arrives, it seems to feel better after a long winter. This year, winter never really started. December and January both got off to a cold start, but that quickly changed through the end of those months. By mid-February, we saw March flowers pop out of the ground. Winter is dead.

According to the National Phenology Network, spring is running 20 days or more ahead of schedule in parts of the Ohio River Valley and the Mid-Atlantic. That will soon be the case in the Midwest and the Northeast.

This is not surprising. In fact, it is exactly what we should expect as the climate warms, according to myriad peer-reviewed studies summarized succinctly by the 2017 National Climate Assessment. In technical terms, the growing season in North America is getting longer. You may also see it referred to as “frost-free” days, since the growing season is the span of time between the last frost and the first frost.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/02/27/spring-is-running-20-days-early-its-exactly-what-we-expect-but-its-not-good/?utm_term=.626f6d343a46

&w=1484

[MFM008]

1. In WA

We just have 2 seasons the rainy season and the somewhat less rainy season.
Actually when the weather is good around this place it is the best place in the world.

[SonofDonald]

6. Yup, rain on, rain off, I wish it would rain this week

Just so it gets warmer, the cold makes my arthritis mad.

And yes, when it's nice out Washington is the best place on earth, I'm so happy I grew up here as if not I wouldn't know what I was missing.

The water, the mountains, the trees, the never ending abundance of things to do all within one days travel.

It's almost time to pull out the Cobra and put the top down for a couple of months, puts a huge smile on my face just thinking about it.

I love the Puget Sound.

[Siwsan]

2. We're in the 60's, today, but there is snow in Thursday's forecast

My gardens are full of plants pushing up through the soil. I've actually been seeing daffodils pushing through since January.

[zipplewrath]

3. Nature doesn't have edges

"First day of..." is an arbitrary delineation that really has no technical definition in nature. But yes, I've notice significant changes in annual weather patterns over the last decade or so, and they are all towards longer warmer seasons, and unfortunately more frequent violent storms.

[SonofDonald]

4. According to the above map

Washington State, the Puget Sound area in particular looks to say that spring is 20 days early.

I beg to differ, I've lived in the area since 1966 and it's not usually this cold this time of year, the winters are worse and colder and the summers are much hotter now than when I was a kid.

People that state there's no such thing as climate change are obviously not paying attention or watching way too much faux noise on the tv.

I had all the gear to take lessons andgo skiing when I was younger, then we had no snow for a two year period, I remember winters when it snowed one day and melted the next with snow on the ground at sea level for one day a year, that was it.

That's no longer the case, we have more snow than ever and it's much colder during the winter months than ever before, the deplorables deny everything to do with climate change at their own peril.

A self inflicted wound.

[DeminPennswoods]

5. Feb was pretty cold here with cold rain, ice

and snow. We had a couple really nice days, but not an "early spring", that's for sure.

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. In these weird weather times, pick a day.

And it may return.

[Ernesto]

8. Acttually it is March 29.............. MLB opening day! n-t

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

9. Well, 20 days early sounds about right here.

I just went out and raked some of my beds. Under the leaves I found daffodils, hydrangeas, sedum, day lilies all putting out shoots. That used to be end of March stuff around here. We had 8 inches of snow two weekends ago and the following Wednesday was 79. That was an all time record high for February. Broke the old record by 10 degrees. I'd say that over the last 10 years things have been inching up by about a week every two-three years.