Indian summer is a short period of especially fine weather and mild days. It comes in late October or early November while the leaves are turning color and falling from the trees. Indian summer has no definite dates to begin or end.
The mild, pleasant weather of Indian summer follows the autumn’s first period of cold, wintry days. The days become noticeably warmer, but the nights remain chilly. The sun shines dimly and softly. The sky turns a rich blue and appears gentle and hazy near the horizon. The air remains smoky and still, with almost no wind. An Indian summer moon often has a soft yellow or orange hue. Indian summer lasts from a week to 10 days, and sometimes for two weeks. Then winter begins.
Indian summer is caused by a large mass of warm tropical air. South winds carry these warm air masses northward. During Indian summer, the air mass remains stagnant (still). This causes the weather to remain clear and mild. The Indigenous peoples of North America enjoyed Indian summer and looked forward to it every year. Algonquian-speaking peoples called it the special gift of a favorite god, Cautantowwit, the god of the Southwest.
The origin of the name Indian summer is uncertain. One story says that settlers in America named the period after Indigenous people who told them that this period would come. Indigenous people were commonly called Indians. The settlers also believed that the smokiness of Indian summer came from fires that Indigenous people built on the prairies.
Other parts of the world also have a short period of fine weather similar to Indian summer. Europeans generally call it Old Wives’ Summer. Sometimes it is referred to as Second Summer. The English call it All Hallow Summer or St. Martin’s Summer. In Poland, the period lasts for three or four weeks, and is called God’s Gift to Poland.
