Spring has sprung early in much of the U.S., bringing celebrations of shorts weather mixed with unease about climate gone askew. Scientists say this could potentially be a record early spring. From Arizona to New Jersey, lilacs and honeysuckles are popping up earlier than usual, and birds are flying about.
Scientists say the unseasonably warm weather has the natural world getting ahead of, and even defying, the calendar.
In cities such as Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Columbus, Ohio, spring has arrived about a month earlier than the 30-year average and about 20 days earlier than in 2012. That year was the earliest start to spring on record based on the U.S. Geological Survey's spring leaf index. Scientists partially blame global warming.
