Texas wildflower season in 2025 could be the best yet, thanks to winter snowstorm

Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas reported the first sightings of bluebonnets in the state back in early February. By mid-March, those colorful clusters synonymous with spring started to pop up across southeast Texas.

The weather, especially in the winter, can dictate how well those flowers bloom each spring and when.

ABC13 Meteorologist Elyse Smith spoke to Karrie Calloway with Texas A&M AgriLife about how the weather impacts the annual bloom. She told ABC13 that this season could be more beautiful than ever thanks, surprisingly, to the snowstorm.

"Some of our researchers are saying that this year, based off the snow, it's actually going to make our flowers blossom even better," Calloway said.

In mid-January, portions of southeast Texas received 1 to upwards of 4 inches of snow.

"The snow didn't really impact in a negative way. It could impact in a positive way, allowing that dormant stage for those seeds to do what it needs to do underground in soil," Calloway said.

There are a few other ways the weather can impact the local wildflower season each spring.

The first is temperature-- specifically in February, and how much those temperatures fluctuate. This past February, the Houston area had a temperature range of about 60 degrees, with record warmth at the beginning of the month and a freeze in the middle of the month.

Next is rainfall. This winter, Houston picked up almost a foot of rain, which is slightly above normal for winter.

Lastly is the soil condition and temperature. Karrie tells ABC13 that ground temperatures need to be in the mid-50s for one to three weeks for flowers to begin to bloom.

These flowers aren't just pretty to view, they're pretty important to local ecosystems too.

"The main reason why wildflowers are really important is because of our pollinators," Calloway said.

She described how wildflower nectar is an important food source for local birds and a soft spot to land for bees and butterflies -- especially for Monarch butterflies who begin their journey back to the United States from Mexico in late spring. That's also why you shouldn't pick these flowers in the wild.

So the 2025 wildflower outlook is a good one for southeast Texas with the peak bloom expected in mid-late April. Thanks to the cold snaps this winter, experts tell ABC13 the flowers could last longer into June this year.

For more on this story, follow Elyse Smith on Facebook, X and Instagram.