From dying plants to syrup shortages, see the prices we may have to pay tomorrow for our beautiful weather today.
Getty Images (3); AP Photo (bottom, left)
The birds and the bees will get an early start this year, as they, too, warm to the suddenly clement weather. The emergence of mosquitos, ticks, ants, ladybugs, and termites in the unseasonably good weather may cause some problems, however, as critters awakening from their winter rest come out to find that the flowers and plants they feed on may not have bloomed yet. In areas of the country where there was little snow and rain, spring flowers may not produce enough nectar to support suddenly active colonies of bees, causing them to rely on depleted stores of honey, pollen, and water.
Uwe Anspach, AFP / Getty Images
Heavy trucks have been banned from some roads in New England—kept off secondary roads to protect the vulnerable road beds during the thaw. It’s a common precaution up north, where trucks are redirected annually to prevent damage, but with temperatures rising earlier than usual this year, trucks in states such as Maine are being sent on detours a bit ahead of schedule. Workers at some companies that ship heavy loads have reversed their schedules, loading up trucks so they can drive through the night, when temperatures are lower.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP Photo
The warm weather this year shortened the maple syrup season and may have affected maple syrup production around the country. Maple trees need a range of cold temperatures to produce the most sap—cool days and below-freezing nights. And once the trees bud, the season is over. Warmer temperatures wreaked havoc this year. The season for gathering the sap usually lasts a month, but this year it ended far sooner for most producers.
Brian Snyder, Reuters / Landov
Nothing represents spring better than the beautiful flowers that bloom once the season has sprung. But when warm weather comes early, those flowers can bloom prematurely, leaving them vulnerable should winter weather kick in again. If an early flower is killed by a frost, the plants will not bloom again. Cherry blossoms, Washington D.C.’s most colorful attraction—second, of course, to the personalities of the people’s elected representatives—are already blooming and will reach their peak earlier than expected, sometime between March 20 and 23. This year is the 100th anniversary of the trees, and some scientists predict that by 2080 the cherry blossoms may be blooming 29 days in advance.
Mark Wilson / Getty Images
Across New England, birds have been returning from their sojourns South much earlier than usual, taking advantage of the warm weather. A spokesman for Audobon Connecticut said, “Anytime they show up in March, I am not stunned. But February, that was weird.” It’s good news for bird watchers, but pretty bad news for the birds. Birds may encounter sudden cold weather, which can kill any nesting young chicks. And while the early birds may show up early, their food supply will not necessarily do the same.
Pat Sullivan / AP Photo
Many of the dams and reservoirs in the United States were designed to handle snow melt levels in the 20th century. Now that spring comes earlier, snow is melting earlier, overwhelming dams early in the year, but then causing water shortages later, when the dams are emptied and cannot refill. Similarly, large forests that depend on snow melt become dryer with early spring, which leads to more forest fires.
Gillianne Tedder / Getty Images
Of course, the earlier the flowers bloom and the birds come home, the earlier seasonal allergies will begin. Researchers are already predicting a “long and intense” allergy season, and many sufferers began feeling it much earlier than usual this year. Sadly, they are unlikely to experience much relief, even if the cool weather returns.
Jim Watson, AFP / Getty Images
An early spring also seems to have a great impact on the strangest nature of all—human nature. Indeed, there may be a connection between increases in temperature and increases in crime. This January saw a 5.7 percent increase in major crimes in New York City compared with the year before, and police have blamed it on the warm weather. “That is the only factor that seems to have changed. Last winter the city was buried in snow, and now there has been barely a snow flake,” one police official said.
John Minchillo / AP Photo
