Mud Season is a term used to denote a time period in late Winter and early Spring. The name comes from dirt paths such as roads and hiking trails which become muddy from melting snow and rain. When the muddy paths and roads are traveled over by wheels, they develop ruts

Rut (roads)

A rut is a depression or groove worn into a road or path by the travel of wheels or skis. Ruts can be formed by wear, as from studded snow tires common in cold climate areas, or they can form through the deformation of the asphalt concrete pavement or subbase material...

. It is regarded in some northeastern states within the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, like much of New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 as both a curse and a blessing because, although it is generally a messy time of year, it is an interlude between the standard tourist seasons of summer (hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

), fall (leaf peeping

Leaf peeping

Leaf peeping is an informal term, commonly used in the United States, for people who travel to view and photograph the fall foliage in areas where foliage changes colors, particularly New England.The origin of the term "leaf peeping" is not well known....

), and winter (skiing

Skiing

Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

).

Mud season occurs only in places where the ground freezes deeply in winter, is covered by snow, 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

Melting point

The melting point of a solid is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends on pressure and is usually specified at standard atmospheric pressure...

. The snow melts but the frozen lower layers of ground prevent water from percolating

Percolation

In physics, chemistry and materials science, percolation concerns the movement and filtering of fluids through porous materials...

 into the soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

 so the surface layers of soil become saturated with water and turn to mud.

It is also characterized by giant puddles on the side of paved roads, from large piles of snow melting, with no place to drain off to. Sidewalks, parking lots, drive ways, and all other surfaces become a muddy mess. Clothing is etched with drops of muddy spray, boots are covered in a layer of mud, either from traveling vehicles (cars or bikes,) and the back of pantlegs display a tell-tale spray pattern. The mud droplets are stubborn and cannot be removed with normal laundering techniques.

See also

Rasputitsa

Rasputitsa

The rasputitsa refers to the biannual seasons when unpaved roads become difficult to traverse in parts of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The word may be translated as the "quagmire season" because during this period the large flatlands become extremely muddy and marshy, as do most unpaved roads...

 of eastern Europe – a similar "mud season", twice a year, that partially stopped both Napoleon's and Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

's invasions of Russia, each in their turn.