Forsythia starting to bloom in spots. Grass starting to green, and magnolia buds about to burst. Did see a few dog woods with those white flowers just starting.
I know exactly what you mean. They might be, but I could have sworn I heard they are some other insect that comes out early. Perhaps it is a mosquito,, but a different breed. They look different from the bastards that get you in the summer.
Nino's typically have shear. But yeah I would guess east based has more of an effect vs central or west. And yes, whether it's AGW or not...a general warmer PAC probably throws off ENSO correlations a tad. As usual, so many things need to get factored in. It's never as simple as saying "well nino or nina mean this or that.."