A late warm patch is now often called an ‘Indian Summer’. This term was first used in the United States in the 19th Century. It may refer to a warm period in which Indigenous Americans could continue hunting.
Previously, in England, a warm patch in the Autumn was called a ‘St Martin Summer’. It could also be called ‘a Halloween Summer.’ St Martin’s Day is the 11th November, and is, in a normal year, the day around when the weather turns to feel wintry. See my post on St Martin’s Day.
A Very Warm early November.
The Met Office in the UK has stated that we had a particularly warm October, and a record breaking early November. They explain:
‘As November began, a flow of warm air from the south swept across the UK. This southerly pattern, combined with cloudy skies, helped trap warmth overnight, leading to unusually high daily minimum temperatures. ‘
They note that the warmest November 5th on record was at Teddington on the Thames in West London, and the average temperature was 14.4 deg C (58F).
But I can’t really call it a St Martin’s Summer because although warm it wasn’t very sunny. We had some sunny but didn’t feel summery.
A warm spell is, in fact beneficial to many plants. The problem comes if it is followed by a quick cold spell. Plants need time to harden off to prepare to face cold weather. A warm winter will also allow many insects to survive and so in the summer plants will be adversely affected by a plague of pests.
For more information on how mild weather affects plants:
Revised and Republished in November 2025
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