Today's the first day of spring, but temps say otherwise

No doubt, March 2012 is a contender for the record books as the warmest one ever.

For backyard gardeners, that was good news Monday as they stocked up on topsoil and gardening tools at area nurseries.

But for farmers who deal with the real stuff -- acres and acres of apples, peaches and cherries that Michigan counts among its cash crops -- risk awaits if a cold snap hits already-blossoming trees, causing frost damage.

"For the fruit industry in particular, this is a major potential problem," said Jeffrey Andresen, the state climatologist and an associate professor with Michigan State University's Department of Geography.

The Michigan Farm Bureau also is wary of the unusually warm winter. It said in a news release earlier this month that thousands of acres of orchards on the state's west coast are at risk of prematurely developing fruit tree buds that will get damaged by a late frost.

"We're at a very vulnerable stage at this point because of the mild winter and early warm-up," Ken Nye, horticulture specialist at Michigan Farm Bureau, said in the release. "But we could also get to May 1 and be just fine."

Meanwhile, cities across southeast Michigan today will see temperature records shattered as highs in the 80s blanket the region.

"The previous record in Detroit was 73 degrees in 1918," said Matt Mosteiko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake Township. "We'll probably break through that by noon."

Tiffany Evans stepped out of the Home Depot in Dearborn on Monday with some gardening tools and a large bag of topsoil.

"I'm going to plant some flowers and vegetables," said Evans, 23, of Detroit of her plans for today -- the first day of spring. "I've always wanted to do it."

She said she's inspired by the stretch of warm weather and how everything from the yellow daffodils to the buds on trees are in bloom.

"The Earth knows best," Evans said. "I trust it."

The current record for the warmest March is an average 47.9 degrees set in 1945.

The three-month outlook -- April, May and June -- looks pretty good, with a 33% chance that temperatures will be above normal, Mosteiko said.

Despite the warm spell, gardeners should be cautious about planting too early. Mosteiko advises gardeners to "be cautiously optimistic."

"The normal snowfall in April is 1.7 inches," Mosteiko said. "So there's still a chance we'll still see some snow."

He added, "I don't think we'll see any measurable snow, just some flurries."

Meanwhile, as Michigan enjoys its heat, Arizona chills out west.

Flagstaff got up to 2 feet of snow Monday, trapping some travelers at area hotels and creating traffic snarls.

"It's scary to me," said Dwayne Bowie, 50, of Detroit. "I think the ozone layer plays a big part of it," he said. "Something from the sun is headed our way."

"We just had the tornado and hail the size of golf balls," Bowie said of the rare winter tornado that tore through the Dexter area on Thursday.

Credit La Niña, the weather service said, for the string of consecutive 60- and 70-degree days this March. Andresen said it's all part of a 30-year trend toward warmer temperatures.

"Our winters have been warmer," he said. "There is a long-term trend for spring warm-up to occur early."

Last winter and the one before were fairly cold but that's been relatively rare, Andresen said.

Does this mean that Michigan could be as warm as Florida in upcoming decades?

"Don't think about planting bananas and sugarcane just yet," Andresen said.