Spring in most parts of the country means 60-70 degree weather, flowers, green grass, and enjoying baseball games in the warm sunshine. Students lay outside on blankets to do homework and play lawn games. However, what most people think of when they talk about spring is not even relatively close to a Michigander’s concept of the season. Below are 5 ways to tell its spring in Michigan.

1. Shorts. Everywhere. At near freezing temperatures.

Forty degrees in Michigan may result in multiple cases of heat stroke. After enduring single digit temperatures for months, the moment the temperature rises out of the thirties everyone breaks out their shorts and celebrates. People hammock outside, take their dogs on walks, and play yard games in the grass mud. Michiganders have very few months without snow on the ground, so every short-wearing second counts.

2. Everything is sopping wet

Springtime means green grass, blooming trees and flowers, and furry little bunnies and birds, right? Wrong. Michigan spring means there is minimal-to-no snow on the ground. The ground has most likely not seen daylight in months due to being buried under snow. When the snow finally melts, it leaves a soggy, brown, muddy mess that Michiganders attempt to refer to as “grass”. There are no flowers. The trees are still leafless. But hey, at least most of the ground is visible now.

3. You wear parkas to outdoor games/events

The typical outfit to a spring baseball game or outdoor event is shorts and maybe a jacket if it’s a little chilly. When outdoor sports and events begin in Michigan, parkas, scarves, and hats are still necessary to prevent frostbite. Instead of sitting on blankets in the sun, we wrap ourselves in as many blanket layers as humanly possible and cuddle together like a penguin pack in the bleachers.

4. There may still be an occasional snowy day

With the Michigander spring season sporting just above freezing temperatures, cooler nights may mean a little snow shower. The typical spring dusting of snow is nothing compared to the past few months and is basically overlooked by most everyone.

5. It no longer gets dark at 4pm

Winters in Michigan are basically like living in a black hole. You wake up, its dark. You have a few bitter cold hours of sunlight, and then around 4-5 o’clock its completely dark again. Anything that must be done during daylight hours must be strategically planned around the few sunshiny (if we’re lucky) hours. After that, it’s like living at night. You find yourself getting tired at 7 p.m. because the sun has been down for hours, making late nights seem even later. Daylight savings time in the spring gives you a few more hours where you don’t feel like you are sleepwalking through life every day.

If you aren’t from Michigan and happen to visit during one of our lovely spring seasons, don’t expect the typical spring that most people are used to. If you want to wear shorts to fit in, feel more than free to, but as someone who hasn’t always lived in Michigan, it takes lots of mental strength and years of conditioning to consider Michigan spring seasons refreshing.