Spring leaf out is off to an early start this year in much of the Southeast. USA-NPN's Director Theresa Crimmins joined Jim Cantore and Stephanie Abrams on The Weather Channel on January 23, 2020 to talk about the implications of an early spring. Some locations are seeing spring leaf out three weeks ahead of normal (a long-term average of 1981-2010).
Other news outlets have also picked up on the early spring:
Washington Post: Indicators of early spring are flourishing all around Washington (Feb 21, 2020)
New Orleans Public Radio (WNNO): Spring Is Coming Earlier And Plants Are Confused (Feb 19, 2020)
Washington Post: Spring has arrived weeks early in the South. Flowers are blooming and that could be a problem (Feb 13, 2020)
Gizmodo: Spring is here...but it's still winter (Feb 11, 2020)
Weather.com: January's mild temperatures gave spring a false start in parts of the south (Jan 23, 2020)
ClimateWire: Warm winter has leaves in the Southeast popping out way early (Jan 23, 2020)
KXAN Weather Blog (Austin, TX): Spring leaves predicted to be out earlier than normal (Jan 22, 2020)
SFGate: Warm winter has leaves in the Southeast popping out way early (Jan 22, 2020)
Bloomberg News: Warm winter has leaves in the Southeast popping out way early (Jan 21, 2020)