Early Purple Martin Return

I received an email from an acquaintance of a post on the TEXBIRDS listserv about the early arrival of a purple martin on January 3rd in Eagle Lake, TX. I forwarded this post to a couple of people associated with the PMCA (Purple Martin Conservation Association) and was told of another sighting reported on Dec. 31st in Houston, TX. This would not be a good thing since we're about to get slammed with some weather that is cooler than normal for our area. It is believed though that these birds are anomalies and not indicitive of "the" return of the majority of these birds.