Indian summer may be brief
Much of the Inland Northwest endured near-record or record cold last weekend.
At the Spokane International Airport, the mercury dropped to 22 degrees. That was 3 degrees from tying the record for Oct. 12 of 19 set in 1922. However, Coeur d’Alene did break a record with a reading of 23, breaking the mark of 25 in 1969.
With all of this chilly weather, many folks have asked if we’re going to see some warming, or an Indian summer weather pattern.
Indian summer is an unseasonably brief, warm period that tends to occur in late October or early November. It normally occurs just after the first hard freeze or immediately following an exceptionally prolonged chilly and wet spell.
In this part of the country, we usually see at least a couple of periods of warm, dry and hazy weather conditions during a typical fall season. Often, there are a few afternoons with record or near-record highs for the date, thanks mainly to a strong high pressure ridge over the region. This unusually mild air sometimes even reaches the normally cool and damp areas along the Washington and Oregon coastlines providing some spectacular conditions for residents and tourists.
There are a number of theories as to the origin of Indian summer. In “The Americans, The Colonial Experience,” Daniel J. Boorstin states “that the term originated from raids on European colonies by Indian war parties that usually ended in autumn. It was the extension to the summerlike weather conditions in the fall as Indian summer.”
Indian summer could also be of Asian Indian origin. H.E. Ware, an English writer, noted that ships traveling in the Indian Ocean loaded their cargo during the fair weather season, or Indian summer. Several vessels had an “I.S.” on their hull at the load level that was thought to be safe during that time of year.
The term may also be the period which early American Indians harvested their crops.
Early American settlers, observed Indian tribes “gleaning in the fields.” They likewise harvested late-season berries, nuts and pine cones from the nearby forests and dried fish caught in the lakes and streams. The Indian summer weather was normally followed by all-important tracking snows that gave the hunters an extra winter bounty of meat.
It’s possible we could see some brief Indian summer weather between now and early November.