Climate change is giving us some weird weather extremes. From 9oF below normal a week ago we’ve now had two hot days 24 degrees above normal.
On Monday (March 7) I saw coltsfoot blooming in Schenley Park. It usually blooms in late March so this may be an indication that Spring is two weeks ahead of schedule.
In March 2012 we had an unprecedented heat wave in North America. Pittsburgh had highs in the 80’s and all of our woodland wildflowers, which normally bloom from late March to late April, opened at the same time. Dutchman’s breeches and trillium bloomed four weeks ahead of schedule. Some plants were six weeks early.
In this trip down memory lane, read about the extreme spring of March 2012 in this post: The New Normal.
Do you think we’ll have an early Spring this year?
p.s. We all like warm weather but be careful what you wish for. Summer temperatures in March 2012 gave way to extreme heat in July 2012 with drought and highs of 100 degrees! 🙁
(photo by Kate St.John)
Lovely photo! I have always wanted to see these flowers in person but have only seen them in pictures. Do you know if there are any that bloom in the city? Or where one could go to see trillium in or close to Pittsburgh?
There’s some trillium hidden on a hillside in Schenley Park. Come to my April 24 walk in Schenley Park and we should see them. The best close place to see wildflowers is at Raccoon Creek State Park’s Wildflower Reserve. If you’d like help finding them, watch my blog for a list of Botanical Society and Wissahickon wildflower outings in the weeks ahead.
Excellent, thank you! I love all sorts of wildflowers and am always stalking places around the city where I know they grow!