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Is it Redbud Winter, or is it Dogwood Winter?
This is the question that many Carter Countians are asking, as the weather is spawning the popular conversation about springtime winters, named for which tree is blooming at this time.

Before the days of modern weather forecasting, folks relied on folk wisdom to help them with planting crops and gardens. Predicting spring cold snaps, in particular, could make the difference between success and failure. If you planted too early, a cold snap could undo your hard work. But waiting too long could mean not having a long enough time to grow before the first freeze.

Here in East Tennessee, this seasonal lore is still used today and passed down from generation to generation. Several predictable cold snaps happen around the same time each spring, and old-timers gave them each a name. All but two of these are named for the trees that are blooming at the time. Depending on how the calendar falls, one of these cold snaps can occur at the same time as Easter. If this happens, we know to have our winter coats ready for Easter church services and egg hunts. Older folks call the Easter cold “Easter Squalls.”

Spring can be an unpredictable time of year, with warm, summer-like conditions one day and winter cold the next. It’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security that the weather will remain hospitable when — WHAM! — a freak cold snap hits and reminds you that winter only ended a few weeks ago.

Though predictable, the climb from the cold of winter to the warmth of summer and back again is not completely smooth. Small “blips” in the overall pattern reveal noticeable fluctuations that can be observed from year to year. These blips are called singularities in weather lingo. For a singularity to be recognized, it has to occur during at least 50% of years.

Badger Summer is a long-established singularity. Dogwood Winter is another. And, of course, there is Redbud Winter, usually the first little winter, which occurs when the redbud trees bloom before the dogwoods. However, this year, both the dogwoods and redbuds are blooming at the same time.

During the month of March, it’s typically a Redbud Winter because the redbuds are in full bloom, but many are saying the most recent cold snap in the past few days makes it a Dogwood Winter, due to the fact that many dogwood trees have had blossoms just starting to open.

As the dogwood flowers continue to open up, we will probably have several Dogwood Winters.
By early May, the locust trees start blooming, hence the transition to a Locust Winter.
And when there is a cold snap (or two) in mid to late May, we are usually in Blackberry Winter.
And there is Cotton Britches Winter, which usually comes in late spring or early summer.

Spring in Northeast Tennessee means it can be 80 degrees and sunny one day, thunderstorms the next, and maybe some extra-frosty weather on the third day to keep you guessing.

According to the 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.

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 remain on the cool side 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 50s and 60s Tuesday and Wednesday, gradually warming into the low 70s by Friday.

Enjoy the little winters of spring — there are two or three more to come before the warm weather is here for keeps.