I need to know about Spring

[andrewducker]

Poll #28667

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 52

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When does spring start

View Answers

March 1st/September 1st
10 (19.2%)

The equinox
19 (36.5%)

When the first flowers appear
13 (25.0%)

Something else I will explain in comments
10 (19.2%)

Comments

[bens_dad]

I have ticked the equinox but the answer is that it depends who and where you are.
When I was growing up diaries suggested it started at the equinox and I was happy with that.

It seems that the UK Met Office have decided it starts on March 1st.

"When the first flowers appear" captures something that the other options miss, but snowdrops appear in January so it isn't quite right.

One March I had a bus trip from Aberdeen to Exeter. It was obvious that nature was about two weeks ahead in Exeter.
Equally climbing a mountain can show how spring is later higher up.

Spring is a temperate and arctic phenomenon; it doesn't happen in the tropics.

[conuly]

It has always been absurd to me that the first day of summer is Midsummer and the first day of winter is Midwinter.

Thus, even if nobody else in these modern times agrees with me, I always offset my season-starting dates by six weeks. Spring starts February 2nd, summer starts May 1, fall starts August 1, and winter starts October 31.

I will die on this hill.

[conuly]

BTW, as always, I say "If it's good enough for Shakespeare, it's good enough for me".

Shall I compare thee to a summer day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May

You heard it here - May = summer.

[andrewducker]

Snowdrops *clearly* an exception. They have "snow" in their name and everything.
Crocuses, on the other hand...

I tend to take it from March 1st.

And yes, at least two weeks earlier at my parent's house (15 minutes drive from Exeter).

[andrewducker]

December->February (the coldest three)
March->May (crocuses and daffodils in early March)
June->August (the hottest three)
September->November (first leaves change in September)

[conuly]

I see you follow the astronomical calendar.

[andrewducker]

I'll give you late May is tending towards summer.

But if the leaves are still budding then that feels more like spring to me.

[andrewducker]

I don't care what the stars are up to ;-)

[conuly]

Snowdrops *clearly* an exception. They have "snow" in their name and everything.

I mean, so does snow-in-the-summer, lol!

[swampers]

Meteorological or astronomical? Northern Hemisphere or Southern?

[conuly]

Leaves are not still budding in early May, not in NYC. And that's not just a recent thing like our mockingbirds either.

[conuly]

:)

But that *is* the astronomical calendar for dividing up the year into seasons.

[lilysea]

When people with Seasonal Affective Disorder stop feeling Depressed or More Depressed Than Usual.

[chess]

I just use three months, so winter is Dec Jan Feb, spring is Mar Apr May, summer is Jun Jul Aug, and autumn is Sep Oct Nov.

[conuly]

But if you don't like Shakespeare, when do the cuckoos show up?

I'm told that summer is icumen in once the cuckoo arrives. The only American cuckoo is the roadrunner, and we don't find that around these parts.

[andrewducker]

First option clearly covers both.

And whatever it means to *you*.

[andrewducker]

Same

[swampers]

"May", in this instance, is a reference to the May tree (Hawthorn), not the month. It is, admittedly, named after the month; however, Shakespeare is not telling you that May is summer, but referencing that the Hawthorn blooming is traditionally an indication of spring ending and summer beginning. In England that would typically be in May - but in Scotland, it may not bloom until June.

[andrewducker]

I like Shakespeare, but I don't let him define my seasons :-)

They arrive in Southern England in April, apparently, but not this far North.

[andrewducker]

Thank you, I didn't know that!

[swampers]

It's the same 'May' as in 'Ne'er cast a clout til May be out' - it doesn't mean until the end of May. Just that the Hawthorn probably knows best when to risk being without a coat.

[andrewducker]

Interesting, that's not what Wikipedia seems to think an "astronomical calendar" looks like: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar#Arithmetical_and_astronomical

[purplerabbits]

In terms of light 1st February. In the most frequently used modern pagan calendar start of February is Imbolc (or Ewe milk) which is the start of spring, Equinox is mid Spring, 1st May is Beltane and start of Summer, Summer Solstice is midsummer, 1st August is Lughnasadh is start of autumn because it's the harvest, Autumn Equinox is mid autumn Halloween/Samhain is start of winter, and Winter Solstice is midwinter.

Temperature does lag behind Sunlight times by about a month though, in my head, so 1st March is also good for start of Spring. Any later is just silly :-)

[conuly]

Ah, thank you.

[conuly]

Looks like I got my astronomical and meteorological seasons backwards. That certainly is embarrassing.