Winter warmth brings some early bloom by Steph Ball
Warm weather over the last week brought some early signs of spring to Eastern States of the US, with trees and flowers breaking into early bloom. However the start of this week has now seen some colder conditions moving in slowly from the west, even bringing the first few snow flurries of the winter to Western Pennsylvania.
The unseasonably warm January weather peaked on Saturday when temperatures hit the low 70’s (20C’s) across parts of the east coast, including New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk International Airport (Virginia).
In Pennsylvania the warm weather saw Cherry trees break into early bloom, while daffodils were seen to be poking from muddy gardens. Temperatures more typical of early March not only fooled plant life but also wildlife, with bears said to be seen stirring from their slumber.
The warmth also caused magnolias to break into bud at Norfolk Botanical Garden, Virginia. The sudden arrival of colder weather is not expected to be a problem though, with early buds likely to just freeze and drop off, returning again in the spring time.
There are fears though that it could cause problems for fruit trees which have been forced into early bud. Frosty conditions can affect the delicate buds and damage the crop.
Conditions must have seemed surreal on Saturday as ice skaters took to a wet and slushy rink at the Rockfeller Centre, New York. T-shirts were donned as the balmy temperatures hit 72F (22C). A new record was set for the date in Central Park at 72F (22C), breaking the previous record of 63F (17C). It was also the joint warmest January day for the park with the previous high on January 26th, 1950.
Temperatures are now down to a more seasonable 30-50F, stretching down through New York State to Virginia, with Pittsburgh reporting some light snow flurries. The cold weather is expected to last for a few days longer.
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