Indian Summer

The term “Indian Summer” is used when we experience a little revival of summer after it should have finished. The sky is usually cloudless but hazy or even smoky looking, especially toward the horizon. In England, this warming trend used to be called Little Summer of St. Luke if it happened in October, or St. Martin’s Summer if it happened in November. Today, we Americans just call it Indian Summer. although no one knows the exact reason for the name. There are stories about how early settlers mistook the haze of late new England autumn air for the campfires of Native Americans, the the name “Indian Summer”.

By my definition, Indian Summer is when there are 2 or more days with above normal temperatures after the first hard frost has been experienced. For some parts of the country that is in October and for others, November. But autumn brings about changes from the hot, humid thunderstorms of summer to cooler weather that comes down from northern Canada. It may not feel like it, but fall is at hand. So, check your thermometer and see if we have Indian Summer.

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