Are we seeing signs of an early spring in Seattle?

It’s always a welcome relief to see early signs of spring around Seattle. Our Ecoyards maintenance crews recently spotted daffodils in full bloom, along with weeds popping up vigorously in landscape beds and lawns. Are we experiencing an early spring in Seattle and beyond? According to Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog, the answer is yes. Last week, he didn’t see his shadow when emerging from his burrow, signaling that spring is on its way.

While the groundhog tradition is folklore, recent studies confirm that warmer springs are causing flowers to bloom and trees to leaf out earlier than in past years. One study published last month in the journal PLoS ONE examined flowering records kept by author and naturalists Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold to investigate whether flowering times will continue to shift as temperatures rise. As noted by The New York Times, Thoreau was meticulous in recording the first blooms of many flowers, including wild columbine and the pink lady’s slipper orchid. The researchers found that record-warm temperatures in 2010 and 2012 corresponded with record early flowering times. For every degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature, flowers bloomed approximately 2.3 days earlier.

Another study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, reported that trees in the continental United States could leaf out many days earlier in the future than they have historically. According to a UPI article, by 2100, some trees could produce spring leaves 8 to 40 days earlier, depending on the region.

Have you noticed flowers blooming earlier than usual in your yard?