Seasonal lag is a term that is used to describe how weather associated with one particular season can tend to drag into the following season due to the fact that it takes some time for seasonal weather patterns to fully set up.  Despite getting just as much heating from the sun in mid May as we do in late July, it’s obviously much hotter in the latter month because of months of summer heat as opposed to just warming up from Springtime weather.  In a winter context, where I live in the central U.S. we get some of our heavier snows in February and March, when thoughts are already starting to turn to Spring.  Even an April snow covering happens once a decade or so…

But snow before Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday in November) just doesn’t happen.  Flurries, sure…. we’ve had some cold Halloweens in the past with a few flakes falling on the zombies.  But to get an accumulating snow in mid November, like we did in 2018, just didn’t seem right…. and the oddity of the situation was clearly captured in these wonderful photos I took of a squirrel experiencing the rare early winter.

Dafuq is going on?

The confused expression on this squirrel’s face combined with the rare sight of autumn leaves on snow covered branches all combine to make this such a wonderful picture!  I hope the squirrels knew this early snowfall was coming and got fully furred up for the cold weather!

And I thought “frost on the pumpkin” was just an expression…

My Squirrel O’Lantern from Halloween hadn’t even had time to decompose before it got covered in the white stuff.  I hope this squirrel likes his pumpkin pie frozen…

This is just messed up!

Yeah, that’s what I thought too, buddy.

Fall and Winter don’t mix!

This seasonally confused squirrel comes in at #26 on my Top 50 Saturday Squirrels of All Time countdown.  Join me next Tuesday as we pass the halfway mark in this year-long saga and finally crack the Top 25!