It's my understanding that the Morels here start to pop up around the first week of April, and tend to begin on hillsides with some sun exposure, usually around oaks and yellow poplars (tulip trees).
(I moved here 11 years ago, thinking they didn't grow here, and then found 2 next to a footpath in a park in Knoxville... so, I'm probably not a great source of information for local conditions that the natives are familiar with.)