Folks in my home state are still digging out in one part of the country and already seeing floods in another part. Even the always present wind has joined the extreme behavior creating more than the normal havoc. Then sadly in other areas of the midwest and Texas, there have already been devasting destructive life taking fires. Very crazy weather with very sad outcomes....
Spring and summer retail items are starting to appear on the shelves as well, I think a little sooner than I've seen them in the past.
I never understood "why" so early until I became involved in selling... then it became very clear. It still drives me nuts but the "why" is due to folks wanting to move on to the next thing as quickly as possible after a Season or Event. This drives stock quantity and availability projections as we go through the year. Basically folks are "done with" Christmas and planning their garden, yard, home improvement project before New Years... It's hard to tell when consumers will start to buy and what will really be needed versus what may be needed and very hard to tell what the Hot Picks are going to be. If I wait til a more sensible April or May to put items up, they will literally either already be gone or disappear entirely within a few days of my find so it is a never ending loop looking for summer items in January and Christmas items in June and July.
Enjoy what Spring there may be this year and Best Wishes for a Great Summer!