Spring cold snaps points Watch for five “little winters” as the season changes

As I write this, we are moving from a fairly benign March into a volatile April. The last few days... have been on again, off again with a mix of gorgeous sunny, but cool days interspersed with some spring showers. Just last night, a band of storms came through spawning tornadoes and wreaking damage in southwestern Middle Tennessee. The redbuds are in bloom and dogwoods are not far behind. I guess we are in the midst of what my grandmother, Lizzie Liford, always referred to as redbud winter. I sometimes have a difficult time knowing which of these little “winters” are which, as Tennessee springs are full of days of uncertain temperatures, with welcome warmer days bookended by colder ones as we inch toward summer.

There are still several to come before the warm days become more consistent. It does make it hard to choose what to wear. I’m colder natured now as I have gotten older, and these cooler days seem to hurt more during the spring than other times of the year.

I learned about most of the “little winters” on my grandmother’s front porch on the family farm near Lone Mountain in Claiborne County. Maw, as I called her, always seemed to be in tune with the weather, and paid close attention to the changing seasons.

She named five cold snaps in the spring that we could expect before summer arrived. The first is Redbud Winter and it is easy to distinguish as the purple blooms of those trees are hard to miss among the light green colors of the other trees just starting to leaf out. It usually occurs in late March or early April. It is followed closely by Dogwood Winter in mid- to late-April. Locust Winter usually creeps in during the early part of May, followed by Blackberry Winter, when those plants begin to bloom in the middle of the month. Finally, Whippoorwill Winter comes along late in the month or sometimes as late as early June. It's marked by the calls of those birds in the evenings. This one seems to hurt me the worst because just when we think the cold has passed, it comes charging back in. Some call this Britches Winter because years ago, people would switch from their heavier winter pants to lighter cotton ones about this time, according to some folklorists.

As I reflect on those seasonal changes, I recall those special times with my grandmother. I’d love to be able to hear her explain them once again. But there are just so many springs for each one of us, and every one is precious.

Story by Glen Liford,

Contact gliford@ourcoop.com