Springtime in December?
Published 12:08 am Tuesday, December 29, 2015
- For a young Sugar maple sapling, protection by downtown Salisbury buildings and unseasonably warm temperatures have prolonged the leaf turn and dropping. As of Monday, the tree that lives along South Church Street has one fall-colored leaf while the rest are still green. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
While the unseasonably high mercury this month has been a welcome sight for some — those who favor lower heating bills over a white Christmas, for example, or who celebrated the holiday with water-skiiing — the weather seems to have confused some of the local flora.
For example, Post photographer Jon Lakey found cherry tree blooming in the park on Monday’s rainy and warm afternoon. He also found a maple tree holding on to its green leaves long after they should be gone.
Neither may last, though. After a predicted high today of around 70 — maybe a couple degrees higher — forecasters say temperatures will decline throughout the week until we’re back down around 50 for a daytime high with nighttime lows in the 20s. And while we try to sympathize with those who would rather wear short sleeves than heavy coats, that is more like it for this time of year.
Wonder if we’ll see Baby New Year out on the water — for a polar plunge, maybe?
