Delicate flowers? not so much.

I used to think that flowers that emerged before snow were doomed--probably because I witnessed carnage among a grove of gorgeous flowering crabapples as a result of a May ice storm in my youth.  But light snow is merely an inconvenience to spring flowers.  Even the wet snow and howling wind of late last week made little impression.  

 This yew was shedding pollen from little male cones a few days ago.

 Forsythia is a cheerful presence in early spring.

 Norway maple will flower soon; these tiny things emerging are the first flower buds I've seen.  

 Silver maple is beginning to develop the winged fruit characteristic of maples:

you can see one sticking out to the left from the foreground flower cluster above.

 These male red maple flowers appear to be taking it on the chin.  

Actually, the spent male flowers fall after a couple of weeks, anyway.

Severe cold, on the other hand, will kill tissues in which ice crystals form--just as happens to frostbitten human ears and toes.  How will these flowers fare after today's heavier snowfall?  A day or two will tell.  Meanwhile, spring proceeds, snow or no snow.  Of course, with almost no internal supply of heat, plants only grow as fast the the air and soil temperature allow.