(May 13, 2013) – The temperature outside right now is at its predicted low of 33 degrees, I’m hoping the crops made it through the night without any frost damage. Judging from the delicate comfrey blossoms in the front yard (pictured above), I think we might have made it.
These cold snaps in Spring are called “little winters.” I think this is Blackberry Winter.
If you are outside often enough over time, you’ll notice there are usually four or five of these singularities in weather patterns that last a day or two. They were named for the most common bloom at the time, except for “Britches Winter.” That particular cold snap refers to the need to have kept your homespun linen wool long underwear (linsey-woolsey britches) handy.
There is a 6th little winter I call a phantom winter that some folks call Whippoorwill Winter. I call it “phantom” because it’s not usually as cold or damaging as the rest.
Here are the five little winters and when they occur in Tennessee:
- Redbud Winter: early April
- Dogwood Winter: late April
- Locust Winter: early May
- Blackberry Winter: mid May
- Britches Winter: late May
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Cris in Nashville
I have lived here in Tennessee all my life I have heard all of them even Whipporwill, except for Britches. I like that. Funny thing is, today people are wearing shorts in the winter. I think they have lost their minds. I have heard some say it is the medication they are on. I know when spring comes, if you got a lot of clothes you start swapping winter clothes for spring. I always leave a pair or 2 thick jeans and sweat shirts, or long sleeve shirts.
Britches winter was called Little britches or Linen britches be the older farmers from years ago,when they changed there woolen britches to there linen ones
We’ve just about threw with them,ready for some real warm weather!!
We’re just about thru them,than . the Lord for some warm,real warm weather.
I have lived in Tennessee all my life and grew up knowing about all these little winters, then I started dating a man from South Carolina that thought I was crazy when he heard me explain all this to him. I needed to find it on the computer to show him that I wasn’t completely insane. I always started putting my winter clothes up around the 1st of May. I am cold natured so you can’t exactly go by me, but I am usually pretty close. Thank you for help in proving that I love Tennessee and that I am not crazy.
You are not crazy you have to remember the old times these young people thanks were crazy but we’re not
I would call my daddy every year to see which winter it was. Last year, he passed away. I cannot ask anymore, so I googled it! I love Tennessee and I miss hearing about the winters from my daddy.
It’s so hard to loose our dads-they have so much wisdom. It’s also sweet for God to give us special memories of them.
Pingback: Redbud winter – Nashens
WSMV’s Bill Hall always let us know which winter we were experiencing. I still miss Bill and all his gardening advise and am grateful for your website.
I like you enjoyed hearing and seeing Bill Hall. Miss him
I miss Bill Hall too. As an outdoorsman, I appreciated his little nuggets of information on Tennessee fishing. Bill knew what to fish for in each spring mini winter. Hope some of these young folks can learn it and carry it forward.
This year (2016) so far the winters are coming 2 weeks sooner than the times in this article (from 2013). I’m in upper East Tennessee, outside of Green eville.
This is April 11,2016 dogwood and blackberries are in full bloom here in Tennessee . Mcnairy county where I live at same time Crazy weather seasons are off track
I love this site! I can never remember which winter or what name it is. I live in southeast Kentucky and I think we are currently having blackberry winter! I just want to get through them and have some full time warm weather!! Thanks for all the posts, love reading them and being educated on these winters
I grew up in Kentucky, and heard of this winters as well. We had a name for the cold snap that came after the first warm days in March – we had a “daffodil winter”. I now live in NC, and these people haven’t heard of these winters that much. Many are getting their education from me.
I have heard of Lin Tree Winter when the Lin Honey is being collected by bees. Harve you heard of this?
I’ve lived in good ‘ole Tennessee my whole life. I love hearing about these winters, and just like a clock they come around every year, some a couple weeks earlier or later
Grandma Tuck always said don’t plan on warm weather till after Mother’s Day. By then the winters are usually finished.
I have lived in TN all my life and I’ve notice these little winters start when the buttercups bloom. I have named it buttercup winter
Wonderful site to explore and learn….
I heard of the 5 winters all my life. My grandparents swore by them. As a child I always thought it was an old wives tale. As I have gotten older I realized there is something to “watching the trees.” Love living in Tennessee.
My mother always kept me in tune with which winter it was . She has been gone for 11 years and I still can not get them straight..Just lucked up on your site as I was googling what winter we were in right before Easter .Thank you .!
Did not know they were Tennessee sayings, heard most of them all my life of 73 yrs in Southwest VA. Too close to call?
Have lived here for 64 years…all my life. My mom and dad always told us of the small winters that were to come. There are seven total. They usually start in or around the end of February first of March. First we have Cotton Wood winter, the Cotton Wood trees bud. Hackberry is next, then Elm Wood, next Redbud, then Dogwood, next Blackberry, comes around the first week of May. finally Cotten Britches. I have also noticed that it matters not if Easter is in March or April the Dogwood trees always seem to bloom right around Easter. I think it has to do with the Jewish calendar and Passover.
Thank you, for actually saying that there had to be a little winter now with all this chilly weather after being in the 70′s the last few days… And the research I found, nothing was showing until, the earliest was April…
Couldn’t think of all 5
Folks, I got news for all of you. Kentucky has these same winters !!! My Dad told me about the 2 he knew: Dogwood & Blackberry. How cool is that ?
I’ve always heard the britches winter called linen britches. A elderly man of the ripe old age of 107 told me it was called that because back in his young days men wore britches made of linen and after that cold snap you could get ur linen britches out and start wearing them
My grandmother called it cotton britches winter. She said things warmed up & everyone was wearing their cotton britches, & then it would get cold & they would have to change back to their wool pants.
I have heard my parents and grandparents talk of these winters, and now I teach my children and grandson. They are unfailing, because with the blooming of those trees and shrubs comes a reminder of the winter you just made it through. Also, have you ever seen dogwoods and redbuds blooming at the same time? You are in for a real cold snap when that happens, but it’s rare. I even saw it snow one year, when both were blooming.
It’s Wednesday, March 31, 2021. The dogwood trees are in bloom and the redbud are starting to bloom in eastern KY.
Should be other way around. Easter is this Sunday.
Knew of 3 of these.
These same little winters also happen in Kentucky. Right now we are going through Locust winter, according to this article.
I wrote this poem in 2016 about Blackberry Winter…
ITS BLACKBERRY WINTER
Oh it’s Blackberry Winter
Spring is finally here
But there’s a little nip
Still floating in the air
The Dogwood tree
Has made it’s blooms
To smile at us once again
So has the sweet magnolia
And soon we’ll smell
It’s fragrance on the wind
The weeping willow is just starting
To shake it’s droopy head
The slightest green we see atop them
As the redbud turns to red
Oh today’s been gray and dreary
There’s soup inside the pot
To keep a body toasty
Each mug is piping hot!
But it won’t be much longer
That it won’t be cold at all
This flurry that we’re getting
Is just an Easter Squall
Soon the warm rains of
Springtime will quench
The waiting ground
We’ll be dancing in the sunshine
With flowers all around…
Neat
The 6th winter, I’ve always known as snowball winter and is relatedd to the large white blooms
Geri on April 8, 2021 I’ve always heard when the magnolia trees bloom there’s a cold spell. Also when the snowball bushes bloom we get a cool spell. I’m in Missouri , and tell people this every year . They probably think I’m crazy.
What I grew up hearing for the last one instead of “Britches Winter” was “Stump Winter”. That was when you’d burned up all your wood for the winter and had to go out and cut the stumps off to get you through that last cold snap.
I found out a lot of information about the winters in Tennessee the winters come at a little different time as all of the states the weather is not the same but I just love finding out about different things . april 15th the temperature is 44 it started a lot colder someone said locus winter
I just wanted to add to this string for others to see later. It’s snowing today all over middle Tennessee.
Looks like it’s Dogwood Winter but instead of a cold snap Tennessee gave us a surprise.
While living in middleTennessee 50+ years it seems what I’ve heard about has been redbud winter, followed by blackberry winter, then came dogwood winter, and finally stump winter. All of this usually was past by the middle of May and the ground would warm enough to put out tomato plants into the garden.
I’ve lived here all my life, but haven’t heard of britches winter….I remember we weren’t allowed to go barefoot until May 1 because mom used to say the danger of frost was over then, and we wouldn’t catch cold “spattin” around barefoot…..
The “Whippoorwill Winter” and the “Dogwood Winter” are pretty much the same thing (because the whippoorwills always show up during “Dogwood Winter”…) There is also another “winter” that occurs before Redbud Winter, but I’m not sure if it even has a name yet. There is always one little lone tree that blooms white blooms in the woods that exactly corresponds with this particular cold snap (cold front) each year…
Tumble bug winter is the last cold snap in tennessee
My grandmother always talked about strawberry winter. I’d never heard of britches winter… So maybe she renamed it? Lol
there is a strawberry winter in TN, in late April into some days I May because strawberries need so many cool days and nights for the strawberries to ripen, same for BlackBerry winter in mid to late June before blackberries ripen.
This is probably going to be the weirdest one on here. Years ago, around Southern Indiana where I live, Mom and Grandma told me that some of the old farmers called a late May/early June cold spell the three isomen (the letter “I” being like how you say island).Now I’m not sure if I spelled it correctly, but that’s the way it sounds when you say it. Just curious if anyone else had ever heard about this.
I don’t remember it being as cool as it is here in Middle Tennessee this late in June, but I do remember us having a cool snap in July one year, that was creepy! Is this some type of winter we’re going through now?
I grew up in L.A., otherwise known as Lower Alabama. The winters I remember hearing of were Redbud, Dogwood & BlackBerry, but I also recall Indian winter. I don’t remember ever really being cold in Alabama except in the summertime when Mama ran the A/C and kept it cold as a meat locker inside. I have enjoyed living in Tennessee the past 20 years, but as I’ve gotten up in age, I’m ready for some Alabama weather. It was interesting reading everyone’s post here and learning about different winters I’ve never heard of.
Don’t put away your winter clothes til April 25th.
I’m trying to figure out if this cold snap May 6-11th. According to the weather woman we’re going to have frost on the 10th and 11th. I don’t remember ever having frost this late in May, so I was just wondering which winter is this? It appears it’s either Blackberry or Locust.
My husband and I were debating on this. We believe it’s Blackberry, so we should have 1 more cold snap after this one. If my memory is right, the last one is less painful. I remember it still being chilly the end of May last year as we didn’t swim until after Labor Day. Could be the same this year.
in Lynchburg,tn they call the last little winter STUMP winter
Blackberry Winter seemed prolonged this year but we had a wonderful profusion of flowers. Promises to be a bumper crop. Then we earlier this week had temperatures in the 80′s. Today, it’s a quite cool 55 after a much needed 3 1/2 inches of rain!
I love the old lore of Tennessee and feel privileged to have met many wonderful older folk when
I first came to this beautiful state over 40 years ago. They had so much to impart to anyone interested enough in listening.
Thank you for creating the site and sharing this.
I have lived in the Knoxville area all of my 65 years. So has my whole family. My Granny told us there were 4 winters, Easter squall, whipperwill, dogwood and blackberry. Up until this year we had never heard of these others. I think somebody just made these others up.
Sure do enjoy reading all the comments. Learned about Linen Winter, that was a new one fhor me.
Cotton britches is the last winter snap