False spring? Dogwood winter? What to expect from the 6 little winters of East Tennessee

It might officially be spring − the spring equinox was March 20 − but the season that traditionally heralds the start of warmer weather just hits different in East 2Tennessee.

Spring in Appalachia means it’s 80 degrees and sunny one day, thunderstorms the next and maybe some extra-frosty weather on the third day just to keep you guessing.

And that probably is why there are a reputed six “little winters” in East Tennessee. If you’re originally from an area where the weather is a little more predictable, here’s an explainer as to what a little winter is, and when to expect those mini bursts of cold and rain. Be warned, though: Even longtime Tennessee residents have been known to argue these points.

What is a little winter?

According to Farmer’s Almanac, little winters are much like “badger summers” − a period of unseasonable warmth in the middle of autumn. Little winters are periods of springtime cold.

“Though predictable, the climb from cold of winter to the warmth of summer and back again is not completely smooth,” the Farmer’s Almanac website says, adding that these small “blips” in the overall pattern reveal noticeable fluctuations that can be observed from year to year and are actually called singularities.

The “little winters” in the middle of spring are called variously Dogwood Winter, Blackberry Winter, Locust Winter, Whippoorwill Winter, Redbud Winter and a few other regional variations, the almanac states.

What are the six little winters of East Tennessee?

The Tennessee Historical Society says the state’s farming folk named little winters for their correspondence to natural, and in one case cultural, phenomena. The little winters occur later in the spring in the higher elevations of East Tennessee’s mountains, of course, compared to a much earlier time frame in Middle or West Tennessee.

• Locust Winter – Some connect this little winter to when leaves start to appear on locust trees in April, and others to when the trees bloom in May.
• Redbud Winter – Early April, when the redbud trees bloom.
• Dogwood Winter – Mid- to late April, when the dogwood trees bloom. Often a heavy frost falls in dogwood winter.
• Blackberry Winter – Early to mid-May, when blackberries are in full bloom. In the Tennessee mountains, this often coincides with the last frost of spring, which can kill new plantings on the farm.
• Whippoorwill Winter –Mid- to late May, when the whippoorwills can first be heard in the twilight of evenings and before dawn. Sometimes, this is reversed with Cotton Britches Winter.
• Cotton Britches Winter – Late May or early June, when the linsey-woolsey (linen and wool) pants worn in cold weather were put away and farmers changed to the light cotton pants of summer.

Is East Tennessee in the middle of a Dogwood Winter?

It’s definitely been colder than “normal” in East Tennessee, according to the National Weather Service. On Monday, the Morristown office stated temperatures will remain 5 to 10 degrees below normal through the day. Temperatures were expected to return to near normal by Tuesday with a chance of rain Tuesday night into Wednesday.

A Hazardous Weather Outlook was issued Monday, with frost possible again Monday night but more isolated and not as widespread due to slightly warmer overnight temperatures. The forecast calls for highs in the lower 70s Tuesday and Wednesday, gradually warming into the high 70s by Friday.

Liz Kellar is a Tennessee Connect reporter. Email liz.kellar@knoxnews.com.

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