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Expert: - 5/1/2007


Question
At what rate does spring-like weather move north? For example,  how much earlier do particular species bloom in northern Virginia as opposed to northern Pennsylvania due  to warmer weather?

Answer
Anna,

That is a good question! Unfortunately, it is a tough thing to quantify. Spring advances in spurts. It can be compared to trying to climb to rungs of a ladder. You go up 3 rungs, and then down 2, up 4 and down 4, up 2 and down 1. The climb is uneven, but you eventually do get higher up on the ladder. Also, when you do have setbacks in the spring, you usually don't go back as far as you were before as far as the cold is concerned.
From my experience, vegetation in Washington, D.C. is about 4 weeks ahead of us here in central Pennsylvania, and we are about 2 weeks behind the higher elevations of northern Pennsylvania. So, there is probably about a good 5-6 weeks difference from northern Virginia to northern Pennsylvania.
I hope this answered your question.

Sincerely,

Dave Dombek
Expert Senior Meteorologist
AccuWeather.com  

Accuweather

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Dave Dombek

Expertise

A weather enthusiast from an early age, Dave Dombek is now an AccuWeather meteorology expert.

Experience

Dave received his B.S. degree in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University in May of 1980. Dave joined AccuWeather in July of 1980, beginning in the Snow Warning Service late that fall after his few month period of training. Within a short period of time, Dave got involved in radio broadcasting. He spent over 25 years broadcasting forecasts on radio stations throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, and has also done newspaper forecasts and television briefings. Currently, Dave is the lead television briefer for all of AccuWeather's television clients in the northeatern quarter of the nation. In his daily forecasting routine, Dave helps coordinate the forecasts in the northeastern part of the country. He is also the Director of Forecaster Hiring and is in charge of hiring new meteorologists. Finally, Dave is the supervisor of the climatology department at AccuWeather. An avid outdoorsman, Dave enjoys hunting and trout fishing. He also enjoys watching football and is a student of history and current events. If Dave doesn't already have enough on his plate, he is married with two teenage daughters. He also leads a small Messianic congregation in the State College, Pa. area.

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