Here’s a quick question, which would probably only make sense to northern-hemisphere people: would you regard February as being in winter or spring?
Normally I’d say spring, but it’s been snowing again today and it’s bitterly cold outside. We haven’t got a lot of snow but I’m taking my camera out nonetheless in case there’s something interesting to photograph.
Snowburary
February 22, 2005 at 09:41
Well, technically February is still in winter, no? And the best part of March too, for that matter… I guess it depends if you see seasons merely as an annual change in weather conditions or as a reflection of Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
February 22, 2005 at 10:24
Well Scientifically Serge is right, with Dec 21st to March 21st being Winter, but for some reason we get though the seasons over here with Feb, Mar, Apr being Spring, while Nov, Dec, Jan is Winter. In reality the coldest weather in The British Isles is probably Dec->March
February 22, 2005 at 10:30
I always consider it to be in Spring and I think I was right up until this week. Its been freezing and there was a few more snow showers yesterday. Brrr.
February 22, 2005 at 10:47
Well, up here at 60°N February and March is very much winter. Often the last decimeters of snow come during this period.
Just have a look at a webcam from across the water from me in Stockholm:
http://193.13.56.151/view/view.shtml
February 22, 2005 at 11:15
Typically, I’d say this is February is in winter. In Seattle, it begins to rain steadily in late October/eary November and doesn’t let up much until March or April. While we consider this rainy season winter, with warming temperatures March and April are clearly spring, so February is typically considered part of winter (besides, snow is still typically falling in the mountains for some good skiing).
Lots of use of the qualifier, “typically”, in the above because this year we’ve had nearly 2 full weeks of sunny, gorgeous days. Lows at night have been nipply – around 22 degrees – but highs in the day have been in the low to mid 50s. I might have to go water my moss, soon.
February 22, 2005 at 13:17
Given the amount of snow yesterday it’s got to be winter. Edinburgh bearly got above freezing the day before. However there were a few brave spring flowers out in Mayfair, so it’s got to be almost spring.
February 22, 2005 at 13:20
Ooh, definitely winter. I’d say winter is mid-Nov to Mid-March. Recent years have been mild, and Brits have terrible memories for weather, so the definitions are easily blurred.
February 22, 2005 at 13:29
I’d go with the winter theory as we always have bad weather after christmas and in late Jan, feb.
Also Spring doesn’t officially start until my uncles birthday (21st March) but that often seems late as by then daffodils have been out for several weeks.
February 22, 2005 at 15:51
Hmm, that’s quite interesting. Here in Finland where I live (65th parallel), it is definitely still winter (now it’s -12, this morning it was -20).
But being Italian, I can say that also in Italy February is considered winter. As a matter of fact, the few times it has snowed in the Florence area (44th), it has been only in January or February.
In Italy I’d say spring comes when mimosa blossoms, which is usually in the first half of March. Here in Finland, I’d say it starts around half March too, when the snow starts to melt (and the melting process goes on until May!)
February 22, 2005 at 17:19
The Wikipedia seems to agree.
February 22, 2005 at 18:27
Where I live, Spring begins when you see the first daffodil!
Not scientific at all really.
February 22, 2005 at 19:22
Thanks everyone for their inputs – it makes interesting reading. Personally I’d call it Winter on the border with Spring in March. But I know that this is referred to being the ‘spring term’ in the academic year, even if it starts in early January, i.e. mid-winter.
.
Muppetette: We have quite a few daffodils already, therefore by your reckoning it’s already spring
February 22, 2005 at 22:15
Woohoo! Spring snow!
I haven’t seen any daffodils for myself yet, just snowdrops…
February 22, 2005 at 23:39
Dave writes: “Well Scientifically Serge is right, with Dec 21st to March 21st being Winter . . .”
Scientifically? What science does that come from?
The idea that the seasons begin on solstices and equinoxes is a myth. Solstices and equinoxes are astronomical phenomena, and astronomy has nothing to do with the weather.
February 23, 2005 at 22:47
Pat: I have a Romanian work mate who’d agree with you. As an example, he brought me the fact that most of June should be “scientifically” spring, while it can actually be considered summer.
Well, that is partly true. It depends on the point of view, and most of all, on the part of the world you live.
Funnily enough, the claim of June of being already summer doesn’t really work neither in Finland, where I leave, nor in Italy, where I was born.
In Italy because yes, people start to go to the sea in June, but the real sea season is from July to August. And August is the best month, because the water is really warm (in June it is still classified “cold”, although it might sound funny to people visiting Italy from northern Europe).
In Finland, July is the warmest month, where you can easily go to the sea and have a sun bath (to have a sea bath, well, you have to get used to it). From the half of September the temperature starts slowly to aim at the zero Celsius, that is, autumn (and the snow) is coming. But if you want to experience something below -20 or even -30, you have to be patient and wait for January-February, the real winter.
February 24, 2005 at 10:06
In Ohio: Winter!
February 24, 2005 at 11:26
It appears that we here in Ireland appear to use a different calendar to the rest of the world. Hence my confusion with February as being part of Spring.
Wikipedia on The Irish Calendar
February 24, 2005 at 12:21
links for 2005-02-24
boards.ie: Screwed by a driving tester! Shows just how great a place Cork is to do your driving test…
February 24, 2005 at 18:01
It never occurred to me that February might be spring already in Britain! I always assumed your weather was yuckier than ours, so I figured your cold-and-blustery seasons were longer than ours. It’s most definitely still winter here in the Washington DC area, in fact today we are expecting eight inches of snow.