Climate Adaptation
Warm Winter Has Leaves in the Southeast Popping Out Way Early
- Leaves seen 22 days ahead of 30-year average in North Carolina
- Early buds face threat from frost, freezing in winter ahead
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It may be freezing today in New York, but mild winter temperatures across the U.S. over the last couple of weeks have leaves bursting out as much as three weeks early from Texas to North Carolina.
Leaves appeared 22 days ahead of the 30-year average in Wilmington, North Carolina, 17 days ahead in Charleston, South Carolina, and 10 days early in Austin, Texas, according to the U.S. National Phenology Network, which uses a national observer network to track changes in lilacs and honeysuckles, normally the first to show leaves in the spring.