Mud season

Mud season is a period in late winter and early spring when dirt becomes muddy from melting snow and ice, making travel more difficult. The name is most commonly used in northern New England and the northern Great Lakes region.

Muddy dirt road during mud season in Maine

Causes

Mud season occurs in places where the ground freezes in winter and thaws in spring. Dirt roads and paths become muddy because the deeply frozen ground thaws from the surface down as the air temperature warms above freezing. The frozen lower layers of ground prevent water from percolating into the soil so the surface layers of soil become saturated with water.

Clay-based soil, especially when combined with poor drainage, is especially prone to forming deep and sticky mud. In sandy soils, the top unfrozen layer becomes waterlogged during thaws, but does not form viscous mud.

Around the world

The term mud season is used in northern climates in North American, particularly in rural northern New England and the northern areas of the Great Lakes. It is often jokingly called the "fifth season".[1] While significantly muddy conditions also occur throughout the Appalachians and in other mountainous regions, they are not as tightly tied to season.

A similar concept, under the name of rasputitsa in Russia or bezdorizhzhia in Ukraine, appears in Eastern European regions dominated by clay-based soils.[2]

Consequences

Mud season can be expensive for towns due to the damage done to dirt roads. One report concluded that the cost of re-engineering dirt roads so that they would remain passable during mud season in the state of Vermont could run as high as $140,000 per mile ($87,000/km).[3]

Transportation problems during mud season have military implications, due to the bogging down of horses and military equipment in deep mud. Both Napoleon's invasion of the former Russian Empire, and the German Battle of Moscow in the Soviet Union during World War II were unsuccessful in part because of the muddy environment during this season. The Mongols did manage to conquer Moscow during the 13th-century Mongol invasion, but may have been deterred from Novgorod due to the muddy bog produced by an early spring thaw.[4]

In the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces' movements have been largely restricted to roads and often bogged down when leaving them.[5]

Cultural references

In Maine, Vermont, upstate New York, and New Hampshire, the phrase "mud season" can be used as a shorthand reference to the vicissitudes and peculiarities of life in the region. The term has been used as the title of magazines,[6] books,[7] and at least one movie.[8]

References
  1. "Mud Season - New England' fifth season". newengland.com.
  2. Zielinski, Gregory A.; Keim, Barry D. (2003). New England Weather, New England Climate. UPNE. p. 91. ISBN 9781584655206.
  3. Major, Ian. "Mud season madness". basementmedicine.org.
  4. May, Timothy Michael, ed. (2016). The Mongol Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia. Empires of the World. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 65. ISBN 9781610693400. Retrieved 21 August 2019. During the Mongol invasion of the Rus' principalities in 1238-1240, Novgorod escaped destruction by the Mongols due to an early spring, which transformed the routes to Novgorod into a muddy bog.
  5. Roza, David (2 March 2022). "'Tanks and mud are not friends' — Ukraine's terrain is proving to be a problem for Russian armor". Task & Purpose. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  6. "Mud Season Review". Mud Season Review.
  7. Stimson, Ellen (7 October 2013). Mud Season: How One Woman's Dream of Moving to Vermont, Raising Children, Chickens and Sheep, and Running the Old Country Store Pretty Much Led to One Calamity After Another. Countryman Press. ISBN 978-1581572049.
  8. "Mud Season". 24 January 1999 – via www.imdb.com.
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