Have you ever felt like spring in Knoxville is not quite
sure what it wants to be? It’s hot, it’s cold, it’s wet, it’s dry………. It just
seems confused. And then there’s all the “winters” the weather people keep
talking about; blackberry winter, dogwood winter……. Really, how many winters do
we need?
Well, at Karns SHADES we started tracking the spring weather
back in February. Let’s look at what we were learning.
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day is February 2nd. The most famous
groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil. He is a groundhog that lives in Punxsutawney,
Pennsylvania, where every year they celebrate the legendary groundhog tradition
with many festivities. The tradition says that when Phil comes out of his
burrow, if he sees his shadow, he runs back inside, which is a sign that we
will have six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, he stays out,
so he is predicting that we will have an early spring with warm weather coming
sooner than usual.
This year, Phil predicted that we would have an early spring. So as we tracked the high (red line) and low (blue line)
temperatures for each day, we compared it to the average high temperature
(black line) for the same day. (We weren’t at SHADES for the very last few
days, so I filled in the information to complete the chart through the whole
six weeks.) Look at our chart below and compare the actual temps to the yearly
averages. What do you think? Was Phil right? Do you think spring came early this
year, or was is late, or was it right on time?
How many winters are
there?
In the southern United States, we have “Little Winters” during
the spring, where for a day or two the weather gets cold and it seems like
winter again. These aren’t real winters, but they are cold snaps that are named
based on which trees and bushes are blooming during that time.
And then there’s “Britches (in the south, it's pronounced bree-chez) Winter”
which comes in late May. This cold snap isn’t named after a tree or bush. Its
name comes from the idea that it will be the last time you will need to wear
your long pants, or britches, before summer comes.
 |
| Redbud Winter comes in early April. |
 |
| Dogwood Winter comes in mid to late April. |
 |
| Locust Winter comes in early May. |
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Blackberry Winter comes in mid May. |
