Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Groundhog Day “weather” you believe it or not!
February 2nd each year brings the most-watched weather forecast of the year—and the only one led by a rodent.
Legend has it that on this morning if a groundhog, specifically Punxsutawney Phil, can see its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If it cannot see its shadow, spring is on the way. I wrote this last week, so I’m not going to say I know what the little rodent said, however, I will say that statistically speaking, I would not bet on Phil.
The groundhog, also called woodchuck or whistle-pig. 5 things you didn’t know about groundhogs!
Onto Phil from Pennsylvania, this whole prediction thing started in 1887 when German immigrants used hibernating animals to get an idea when winter was over. Since then it’s become a legend of oddities starting with Phil being very old having been given a sip of Groundhog Elixir that lengthens his life for seven years. Only Inner Circle members, the guys with the top hats and tuxedos are privy to this magic.
As for any predictions of weather for 2022, well, I don’t know that we can count on any for certain as Mother Nature has a will of her own! That said, according to NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it looks like our cold climates, Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas are looking at average temperatures through April but Wisconsin could get more precipitation. Nothing wrong with that! We could use moisture.
