DCHP-1 Online

squaw winter † Northwest

• 1 See quote.

  • 1912  (1913)  Squaw winter . . . a term in use in parts of the Canadian North West to designate a mild beginning of winter.

• 2 a spell of wintry weather occurring in early fall, especially when followed by an Indian summer.

  See also: Indian summer  

  • 1935  In the middle of September a short "squaw winter" had blown down from the coastal hills, killing all greenery and bringing a six-inch snow. Though the snow had quickly melted and the weather had faired up a little, the lazy golden days of summer were definitely gone. . . .
  • 1953  A short "Squaw Winter" ten days ago had turned the Alberta Plains sere and dusty, but the cold snap had passed and the Indian Summer afternoon was warm and lazy, with the prairie sky a smoky blue and heat waves dancing over the hard-packed sod of the Police quadrangle.
  • 1955  The snow and the cold, squaw winter, as the old-timers called it, lasted for about a week, then the sun came out, the snow melted, and we had Indian summer.