A sign of spring? Birds seen migrating north on radar

The National Weather Service in Key West tweeted out the radar loop Monday

Birds migrating north on radar (NWS - Key West)

KEY WEST, Fl. – This winter has been exceptionally warm across much of the Southeast, with record warmth being observed or challenged in parts of Florida in recent days. While radar that far south usually lights up due to daily thunderstorms, it lit up with something different Monday.

The National Weather Service in Key West tweeted that birds migrating north were detected on radar.

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Today’s technology allows us see, and differentiate between, the different shapes of precipitation, be it hail, sleet, snow or rain. This same product can be used to determine that which is meteorological and that which isn’t on radar.

We’ve seen in past instances when birds and bugs become trapped in the eye of hurricanes and become visible on radar scans.

Another sign of spring has come from the trees, according to the National Phenology Network.

Spring leaves arriving early - southeast US

Even here at home, you can see that some places are seeing spring leaves roughly three weeks early.

Spring leaves - southwest and central Virginia

Meanwhile, Your Local Weather Authority continues to track the possibility of light snow in parts of the area late this Thursday.


About the Author:

Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today.