Unusual November Warmth Tricks Plants, Animals into Springtime Behavior

In the U.K., plants are flowering, frogs are calling and bees are collecting nectar

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Some of the warmest early November weather on record has plants and animals behaving oddly in the UK.

Flowers, insects and birds have been among the lifeforms observed showing unusual patterns of behavior, in light of average temperatures for central England about 3 degrees C above normal, the UK's Daily Mail said on Monday.

The UK Met Office pegged average central England temperature for the first half of November at 10.7 degrees C, or 51 F.

Weather data collected by AccuWeather.com show that, in London (Heathrow Airport), the average November temperature as of Nov. 13 was 12.1 degrees C (53.8 F), or 3.7 degrees C (6.7 F) above normal. This would be comparable to normal weather during the first half of May or early October.

Highest November temperature so far was 18 degrees C, or 64 F.

According to the Daily Mail, some flowers have bloomed a second time, apparently spurred to do so by the warmth. Crickets, grasshoppers and frogs have been heard calling. Bees have been sighted collecting nectar.

Continuing warmth rivaling that of the month thus far could put November 2011 into the books as one of the warmest ever. Already, 2010 has had the sixth warmest September on record followed by the eighth warmest October, the Daily Mail said.

Stubborn southerly and southeasterly wind flow has helped to underpin the unseasonal warmth, AccuWeather.com forecasters believe.

Forecast information available to AccuWeather.com shows that above-normal temperatures over the UK as a whole will linger on through this week and beyond.

This article is reprinted with permission from Accuweather.com. It was first published November 14, 2011.

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