March was mild and warm with Colorado Springs breaking several record high temperatures. Just today I saw flowering Forsythia, Plum and Crabapple trees. This is easily 3 weeks ahead of a normal year. The National Phenology Network tracks the start of spring, called the Spring Leaf Index, by measuring the appearance of leaves, blossoms and other early season events such as the first Crocus plants. The map below shows locations that have reached the requirements for the Spring Leaf Index.

What this means for our trees and plants, is that their new leaves and blossoms will likely get damaged by cold temperatures and frost. This will minimize fruit production and impact pollinating insects. With the weight of leaves, flowers and seeds on some trees, we could see breakage with wet spring snows.