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Published Thursday, February 02, 2012 in Local

Photo by Jeffrey Leo

Jonquils and daffodils have been blooming in and around Newnan since at least the last week of January. These blooms photographed Wednesday are on plants next to the home at 53 Sprayberry Road.

Groundhog Day: Shadow or not, it already feels like spring in Coweta

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Newnan Times-Herald

Regardless of what the groundhog says this morning, the Climate Prediction Center expects an early spring.

"For the next month, we are expecting above normal temperatures," said Trisha Palmer, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, who provided the CPC's report.

The outlook for the next three months?

"Still more of the same," Palmer said. "We have had snowstorms in March before, but it looks like we are going to be moving more into our spring weather types ... versus winter weather."

The Climate Prediction Center, part of the National Weather Service, is predicting equal chances of above and below normal precipitation for the next three months. However, "it looks like it may be below normal for precipitation," Palmer said.

Whether the groundhogs agree with the CPC's forecast might depend on whether they are early risers.

"It sort of depends on when the groundhog goes outside," Palmer said. There is a chance for showers in the morning -- but "by 7 or 8, it should be moving out," she said. Cloudy skies will be "clearing from morning into afternoon," Palmer said. And the forecast high is a springlike 68 degrees.

The most famous groundhog of all is Punxsutawney Phil, who whispers whether or not he sees his shadow to members of the Inner Circle.

Since winters in Pennsylvania rarely have anything in common with winters in Georgia, there are some Southern groundhogs we can look to for prognostication.

There's General Beauregard Lee at the Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn.

And the new kid on the block is Chattanooga Chuck, who makes his home at the Tennessee Aquarium and has an impressive record of correct predictions.

The trees and flowers certainly seem to think spring is on its way.

Jonquils and daffodils are popping up, Japanese magnolias and maple trees are blooming. Fruit trees are budding.

The plants that are blooming "react based on temperatures," said Stephanie Butcher, Coweta Extension Service coordinator.

The warm weather is "telling them this is the temperature you need" to start blooming, she said.

But winter is not over yet, of course.

"Over the past several years... temperatures have moderated. They have been pretty warm and, say, April 1, we have a freeze," Butcher said.

And that's the end of the blooms, for the most part. Butcher said the local extension office occasionally gets calls from Cowetans who are trying to figure out what happened to their flowering plants.

"So enjoy them while they're blooming," Butcher said.

The warm winters, though pleasant, can have a negative impact on Georgia's agriculture.

If a late cold snap hits, many fruit trees can be damaged when young fruit is frozen.

But for Georgia's peaches, the problem is there's not enough cold. Peach trees have to have a certain number of "chill hours" during winter "or they don't produce as many peaches," Butcher said.

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