This is a sure-fire Indian Summer!

Written by: Bob Metcalfe

We've been throwing the term "Indian Summer" around quite a bit lately on News8 and Fox Rochester, but some people are a little fuzzy on the meaning. Well then, its time for some education!

The definition of Indian Summer differs depending on the source (website, person, etc.) Its more of a "jist" type of thing. The term "heat wave" suffers from this same sort of non-universal definition as well, just a "prolonged period of extreme heat."

So here it is: Indian Summer is more or less a period of unseasonably warm, mild, and sunny weather typically occurring after the first frost. We've had a few good frosts before this warm weather streak started back on Tuesday, so I think we've met those requirements, with a great deal of sunshine to boot!

Just a recap, on Tuesday we hit 71 and on Wednesday we 70. Today's forecast puts us near or slightly above 70 once again, and it looks like we could rise above 70 on Friday as well!

I searched for how the term "Indian Summer" was originated, but couldn't come to any solid conclusions. There are a few possible explanations:

-Late autumn was traditionally the time the Native Americans first harvested their crops of squash and corn.

-The Native Americans were considered deceitful by European settlers (like the term "Indian Giver") and this unusual warmth in the typical "cool" season fools you.

Any way you look at it, Indian Summer is pretty widely accepted as a good thing in these parts.