Why do Idahoans Call a February Thaw a Fool’s Spring?

This is my 11^th Idaho winter. The term Fool’s Spring was new to me when I arrived. I had heard of February thaws, which appear to be the same thing. I can remember a cold winter when I was in high school. In late February, the temperature climbed to almost 40 degrees, and my buddy and I drove his 1970 Impala to the next town with the windows down.

Credit Bill Colley.

We'll Get a Few Days and Then Blam!!!

It felt great at 60 miles per hour. We passed some girls we knew and they smiled and waved as by that time I was hanging my feet out the passenger window.

After 48 hours of warmer weather, it was back into the single digits and I walked to school one morning when it was 18 below zero. I thought it was cold, but didn’t know how cold until I got to school and someone shared the temperature.

We didn’t have school closings for cold weather, and any snowfall under 8 inches was just considered another winter day.

It Gets Frustrating After a Pace

My first exposure to Fool’s Spring came from a conversation with State Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld. She wasn’t yet a serving legislator, and a group of us had been out for lunch. We walked out into a warmer-than-average day (it was raining slightly), and she smiled and made the comment.

I think it’s far more appropriate than talking about a thaw. It best describes the depression we slip back into when the cold returns. Next week is going to test our resolve. Nice temperatures and even some sunshine will briefly join us, but not long enough to spoil us. That won’t happen until sometime in June!