This year might be another strike in the "loss column" for Punxsutawney Phil, which isn't much of a surprise, since he's wrong about 60 per cent of the time. He forecast six more weeks of winter, yet it seems spring is already in full bloom across parts of the country where blooms should still be nearly a month away.
Parts of the South and Southeast are seeing their earliest spring on record this year, with leaves already budding on trees as much as three weeks early. Other parts of the South and Southeast are seeing their earliest spring in 40 years. Contrast that with southern Arizona, where they are seeing their latest start to spring in 40 years.
The National Phenology Network, which keeps track of the arrival of spring, maps the locations where it believes spring has already arrived. It does this by tracking the bloom of two plant species typically among the first to leaf out each year and are also "common across much of the country."
Much of the "early spring" has to do with the warm start to 2023. Much of the South and Southeast are off to their top-10 warmest years on record, and several cities are seeing their top-five warmest: Houston, Jackson, Nashville and Atlanta.
It is even more dramatic in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Philadelphia and New York City are experiencing their warmest start to the year on record, so the early bloom will most likely expand into the Northeast in the weeks ahead.
"Plants are really sensitive to temperature, humidity and rainfall. They're sensitive to photo periods; so the sun and things like that. They're responding to these kinds of triggers in the environment, these cues that the climate is giving them, and they respond to that," Megan O'Connell, a research associate with the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, explained.
O'Connell said spring is coming early more frequently -- and climbing to warmer temperatures -- because of climate change, which is a significant shift for plants and animals. The timing of when plants bloom is critical for the pollinators who depend on them. If the blooms appear early, the blooms could already be gone by the time pollinators appear, creating what scientists call "ecological mismatch."
"While things are getting warmer, the weather is also getting more erratic. And so, plants and animals are responding to these kinds of chaotic weather patterns all very differently," O'Connell explained. "It's not that we're going to see everything just move forward together. It seems like species are all responding differently, which is the reason we're seeing a lot of these kinds of mismatching trends."
One example is the monarch butterfly. Scientists have seen the milkweed they depend on to lay their eggs bloom earlier and earlier, but the butterflies are still showing up on time to fields where milkweed has already finished blooming and is gone. The mismatch might seem small but could have huge implications affecting all of us.
"One out of every three bites of food that we eat" is directly connected to a pollinator, Ron Magill, communications director and wildlife expert at Zoo Miami, previously told CNN. Around 30% of the food on our tables gets there because of things like butterflies, bees and bats.
"Think about the thousands of species of plants and pollinators out there. It could have some really catastrophic effects on ecosystems," O'Connell said.
But O'Connell pointed out we can help pollinators tremendously by planting as many native species as possible in our own yards.
"You can create little pollinator resorts for them throughout the year. Look up different species of flowers that flower at different times in the season, and then plant flowers so that you can provide food to them all season," O'Connell advised.
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Twenty-seven year Â鶹ӰÊÓ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
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The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.
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The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
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A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
A body has been found in the vicinity where a woman went missing on the Ottawa River near Pembroke, Ont. while kayaking Tuesday night, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Donald Trump returned to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the southern battleground state with direct appeals to women, claiming he would be a better champion for them than U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president.
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The more Chelsea Walsh talked to the eccentric fellow American who seemed to pop up in every square and cobblestone street of Ukraine's capital, the more she got creeped out.
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says close to 45,000 Canadians are in Lebanon, months after warning there is no guarantee Ottawa can evacuate them if the situation deteriorates further.
The federal firearm buyback program has cost taxpayers nearly $67.2 million since it was announced in 2020, but it still hasn't collected a single gun.
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The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
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Jonathan Aranda homered for the second consecutive game, helping Taj Bradley and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Saturday.
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The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
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Volunteers and staff members gathered along Vancouver’s Stanley Park Seawall Saturday to pick up litter as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day.
A heritage home in Vancouver suffered "extensive damage" in a fire that broke out late Saturday morning, according to firefighters.
Toronto police are investigating a shooting in Scarborough that left one person injured Saturday night.
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The St. Clair College golf teams were successful at the Niagara Knights Invitational tournament on Friday.
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A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
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The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off the 2024-25 season on a winning note Friday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in a game played at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
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Jim Lester’s farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
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