After The Frost: Indian Summer?

Much of Vermont got a frost last night, as expected, but a few areas, especially near Lake Champlain  did not, again as expected.

The low temperature in Burlington, Vermont was 35 degrees, missing the record low for the date by just one degree.

Warm hazy fall days are regarded by many as
Indian Summer, but there is disagreement
on precise definitions. 

We know it's going to warm up for the rest of the week, but do you call the mild spell an Indian Summer?

It turns out the answer is complicated. For many people, any spell of warm, sunny weather after an autumn frost or freeze is an Indian Summer. 

So, if your garden is wilted and iced this morning, but you find yourself enjoying the warm sunshine tomorrow afternoon, congratulations, it's Indian Summer for you

Other definitions of Indian Summer are a lot more persnickety. The Old Farmer's Almanac is probably the biggest hardliner it in its definition.

To them, Indian Summer must be a spell of hazy, sunny weather with warm days and cool nights, and it has to come between November 11 and 20. As you can imagine, that means most years don't have an Indian Summer, at least in the world of the Old Farmer's Almanac.

But as I said the rest of the week in Vermont is going to be nice. Temperatures in the lows 60s today will get to 70 Wednesday and into the 70s Thursday and Friday. We'll have a decent amount of sun during that time, too.

So if you want to call that Indian Summer, go right ahead. But if you just want to call it nice, knock yourself out.