What Is An Indian Summer?

An Indian summer refers to an unseasonably warm and hazy spell during late October and former November that occur across the central and easterly United States , and in parts of Europe . Contrary to its name , this weather system is n’t in reality found in India , so where does the phrase “ Amerindic summer ” amount from ?

In the United States , this fairly common weather organisation come about when a shallow polar atmosphere mass stagnates to form athermal inversion . A level of strong air covers a level of cooler atmosphere , create a detonating gadget on the upward motion of melody from the lower layer . This affect cloud shaping and rain , as well as increasing temperatures and limiting the dispersal of smoke and dust , which make the conversant Indian summer haze .

The term wasfirst usedin the easterly US , and while the exact origins are unreadable , many contemplate it pertain to Native American “ Indians ” . The strong conditions of an Indian summer were said to have allowed Native Americans to continue run and tuck their wintertime stores well into the autumn months . While another speculation claims the term originated from the belief that the fog was created by prairie firing deliberately set by Native Americans .

The first record use of the musical phrase appears in a 1778 work , missive From An American Farmer , in which French - American Michel - Guillaume - Jean de Crèvecoeur details “ a short musical interval of sens and mildness , called the Indian Summer . " Over the next 100 geezerhood , the phrasal idiom appears on a regular basis in American literature .

In the nineteenth century , during the British Raj , the terminal figure “ Indian summer ” reached England and caused a misguided impression that the musical phrase referred to the Indian subcontinent . While the English terms “ St. Luke ’s Summer ” and “ All - Hallown Summer ” refer to the same unseasonably tender atmospheric condition occurring around the Saint ’s feast day ( October 18 ) , these phrase were soon replaced with “ Native American summer ” , which is now considered widely accept language .