VANCOUVER - The crocuses are sprouting from the ground and the cherry trees are in blossom, but Olympic organizers are still hoping they might be able to see a snowboarder's shadow on Tuesday - Groundhog Day - telling them that winter may yet be on the way in time for the 2010 Winter Games.

Lore says that if the hibernating groundhog emerges on Feb. 2 and sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. But the Olympic host city is experiencing an unseasonably warm winter, even for Vancouver.

Matt MacDonald, a meteorologist at Environment Canada, said temperatures in Vancouver itself hit 9C by mid-afternoon Monday.

But up at Cypress Mountain, located on the city's north shore and host of the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events, the mercury was sitting at -1C Monday afternoon and Environment Canada's website announced it was snowing.

Still, the long-range forecast predicts a "slight warming trend'' approaching the Winter Olympics opening ceremonies on Feb. 12, MacDonald said.

"It's still a long ways out and a lot could change rapidly,'' MacDonald said, adding light flurries at Cypress in the coming days should help the mountain architects continue to build runs.

B.C. has few groundhogs but according to the lore east of the Rocky Mountains, if a groundhog sees his shadow on Feb. 2, then there will be six more weeks of winter.

What B.C. does have is the marmot, a furry relation of the groundhog and the inspiration for Muk Muk, the cartoon mascot of the Olympic Games. And those marmots are still in full hibernation and won't be out to see any shadow, says Malcolm McAdie, captive breeding specialist for the Marmot Recovery Foundation based on Vancouver Island.

"I guess we shouldn't be looking to the groundhog, we should be looking to other species of marmot. They're perfectly comfortable and they don't anticipate spring for a long time,'' said McAdie.

While Olympic organizers cross their fingers in hopes Vancouver weather will still flip like a snow globe in time for the Games, another bunch is happily rooting for cherry trees and daffodils.

"It will do away with the stereotype of Canada as being this frozen place where everybody lives in igloos,'' said Nancy Wong, spokeswoman for VanDusen Botanical Gardens, a 22-hectare melange of plants and flowers in the heart of the city.

No doubt about it, Wong said, the appearance of blooming forsythia bushes and budding roses less than two weeks before the Olympics signals spring has arrived early even for the usually balmy Pacific metropolis.

No problem, said Wong.

"You can always solve the problem of there not being snow on the mountains, VANOC seems to have that well under control,'' she said, adding snow in the city itself is unnecessary.

"You can have your Winter Games and your winter sports in the mountains, and you can have a glorious wonderful spring in the city.''

Pleas for flurries have seemingly fallen on Mother Nature's deaf ears, with images of muddy mountain runs early last month forcing concerned 2010 Games organizers into action.

Teams choppered in 1,000 bales of straw to tuck under 300 loads of snow trucked down Cypress Mountain in order to sculpt faux-fabulous courses for freestyle skiing and snowboarding events.

It's a very different picture than Whistler, where alpine and nordic skiing along with sliding sports will enjoy "phenomenal'' snow coverage, said MacDonald.

In Vancouver, those passionate about planting are pleased but also worried. When foliage blooms without an accompanying awakening of the insect population, pollination falters and the ecosystem can be thrown out of balance.

This leaves Al Pasternak - who has taken delight in recent weeks snapping photos of budding crocuses - siding with snow-hopefuls.

"Overall I would prefer that the weather gets back on course,'' said the Vancouver resident, who organizes an online guerilla gardening group that advocates clandestine gardening in public spaces.

"But I also think the plants are resilient enough that if a cold snap happens, they'll bounce back in the spring - or at least some of them will.''

Wong added that if sub-zero temperatures do make an appearance, it's far better for the plants to simultaneously be blanketed in snow because it actually insulates tender shoots, keeping them safe.