Will this be the ONION SNOW? I wish I knew. It's not late spring and I don't grow onions.

The ONION SNOW was always something of an event at work, lots of giddy twittering among the women on the packaging lines and after-work-happy-hour stops by the men. I was very young and hadn't grown up around farms; I had no clue about it. And I was too embarrassed to ask anyone what it meant. It's not the kind of thing that you hear about on national TV or in magazines, since it's very regional. Here I am, 35 years after I first heard the term onion snow, using the Internet, to find out what it is. Tomorrow we're due for snow. Maybe it'll be the onion snow. I'm going to hang around the local produce place and see if anyone knows. Probably the fact that it isn't REALLY late spring makes a difference. Or maybe the definition refers to just the feeling of spring? That's the part that I can't pin down. That, and when people plant onions. Seems early to me.    


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Tim
I'd not heard the term even though part of my family is from Pennsylvania. In Oklahoma the onions are more likely to be pelted by hail, flooded or pulled up by varmints than covered with snow.
DKN
Wow, I'd never heard that one before!
e2c
Robbie, I *think* it means that the snow literally sort of "bends" the young wild onion shoots - at least, that's the way it was explained to me when I was much younger... Will try and ask around, since you've got me curious now!
e2c
From http://arustlingofleaves.blogspot.com/2007/04/onion-snow.html :

Apparently, the term “onion snow” isn’t as widely known. Here in South-Central Pennsylvania, it’s a common expression for an early spring snow that comes right when the onions and garlic are peeking through the dirt in our gardens. The dark green tops of wild onions are also popping up around field edges and in yards in late March to early April. The snow that falls is no more than a dusting to a couple of inches. A heavy spring snow is called a twig bender or sapling-bender. Either type of snow does not last long.

Morgat
That is a term I'd never ever heard of. At first I imagined pellets of snow the size of baby onions falling out of the sky (what would differentiate that from hail, I do not know. Density? Consistency?) I'm glad you explained it. I was hoping you wouldn't get hit on the head by any of it. ;-)
little miao
Never heard that phrase before either. I wonder if they've planted onions here already - I don't think there's been enough time. It was in the 40s a few days ago and nearly everything was melting, but now since this morning we have another 4 inches of snow.
Lauri
I love learning new things every day! We are getting "onion" snow right now....but if it keeps up it will definitely be a twig bender!!! *frowny face*

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