More winter! Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil sees shadow

[underpants]

Source: USA Today

Punxsutawney Phil, the world's most famous fuzzy forecaster, popped out of his burrow Sunday morning and predicted six more weeks of winter, much to the disappointment for the crowd gathered at Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania.

According to folklore, if it's cloudy when the groundhog emerges, the critter will leave his burrow, signifying that winter will soon end. If it's a sunny day, Phil will supposedly see his shadow and, frightened, retreat back into his burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks.

An analysis of weather data from the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., shows that Phil's forecasts are, on average, inaccurate. "The groundhog has shown no talent for predicting the arrival of spring, especially in recent years," according to the center. "Phil's competitor groundhogs across the nation fared no better."

Although Phil is the most famous hog of them all, other prognosticating groundhogs include West Virginia's French Creek Freddie, Georgia's Gen. Beauregard Lee, Ohio's Buckeye Chuck, North Carolina's Sir Wally Wally, Alabama's Smith Lake Jake and New York's Staten Island Chuck (full name: Charles G. Hogg).


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2014/02/02/groundhog-day-punxsutawney-phil/5101379/

[Siwsan]

1. I've had enough Winter, this year, to last me the rest of my life!!

We got another 4 inches, yesterday, and I'm pretty sure we've broken the record. Thankfully, this time the forecast was wrong in the RIGHT direction since they were predicting close to 8 inches.

[hobbit709]

2. No shadow here, it's gray and raining.

[Solly Mack]

3. I didn't see mine. Wet and cloudy.

[NutmegYankee]

4. This whole tradition is based on German folklore, though there is some meteorology to it.

If it's a cloudy day, it's possible that warm humid Gulf air is moving in which signals a move towards the spring climate. If it's bright and sunny, then that means it's likely that the continental polar air mass is firmly in charge and winter will continue.

[underpants]

5. :-)

"If Candlemas be fair and bright,

Winter has another flight.

If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,

Winter will not come again."

[niyad]

20. blessed candlemas/imbolc

[Gothmog]

6. It has been a strange winter

I knew that I was hoping for early spring

[another_liberal]

7. Tell me something I don't already know, Phil.

You're smart to get back into that burrow this winter.

[lunasun]

15. surprised he even would come out -lucky if it's only 6 weeks IMO

[Arkansas Granny]

8. Gray and gloomy here with temp near freezing. Rain, sleet and snow are forecast. Yuck!

[hlthe2b]

9. Farmer's Almanac has been on the money this year, I think...

Phil is still well below 50:50, I think, though he catches a "nut" every now and then..

Feb already starting as a very snowy month for much of the nation.

[allan01]

10. re:More winter! Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil sees shadow

not here in california . we are in severe drought . my location is on stage 3 water rationing . could some of u send some of that winter to caifornia please ?

[lunasun]

16. truck all this midwest snow away pleeeez!!!

[displacedtexan]

17. It's raining here in SF!

We had the driest January ON RECORD.

[onehandle]

11. Weather says several inches of snow tomorrow here in PA.

Don't need a giant rat to tell me winter ain't over.

[IMG][/IMG]

[heaven05]

12. no groundhog had to tell me that

worst winter here in S.E. michigan since 70's.

[AllyCat]

13. So I went to mark the end of winter on my calendar

And counting out six more weeks is SURPRISE! The first day of spring. Whoodda thunk it?

[TwilightGardener]

14. I love how other states try to get in on the groundhog action.

Lame-O.

[jakeXT]

18. .

[Rozlee]

19. This has been an expensive winter for us here in the Texas Hill Country.

No snow, but the cold temperature snaps have cost us $2,000 in repairs for the motor of our well and then another few hundred when two pipes on it froze and burst two weeks apart. That has never happened before and it all happened in December and January. That's not even mentioning our energy bills.

[naturallyselected]

21. Living in Maine

In Maine, six more weeks of winter on February 2 means we'll have an early spring. Isn't this true in much of the country?

[James48]

22. Woodchuck recipes

That's it.

I give up.

http://www.outdoor-michigan.com/Recipes/woodchuck_recipes.htm

and

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,woodchuck,FF.html

for excellent Woodchuck recipes

[Beacool]

24. OK, let's not get too drastic with the poor fellow.

P.S. Someone actually eats them????

[underpants]

30. LOL reposted MANY times on FB

thanks

[Beacool]

23. If I get my hands on him, I'm going to kick his furry ass!!!

I'm already sick of winter!!! We either get snow or horribly cold days. Although this weekend has been great. The Super Bowl folks got lucky (they're playing 20 minutes away from my town).

[itsrobert]

25. So more 80 degree days with no rain?

in Southern California?

[olddad56]

26. Groundhog day - my favorite holiday.

no gifts to buy, no cards to send, no obnoxious in-laws, almost like a regular day.

[unblock]

27. the version i grew up with was a glass half full/half empty version.

depending on whether or not he saw his shadow, either there was 6 more weeks of winter or winter was half over.

i.e., winter was going to last just as long regardless, it was just how you looked at it.

of course, real science geeks know the glass is completely full: half water, half air

[Lifelong Protester]

28. You know it's bad when all I can say is

"This weather blows"....I'm usually more articulate than that.


Pull the poor furry rodent out of his cozy warm den for this??

[2pooped2pop]

29. He has only been right 10 out of 25 years

the odds are with us that old man winter is going to run out of snow

[benld74]

31. Stick with The Farmer's Almanac, and you can never go wrong,,,,,,

[alp227]

32. sigh...

[lastlib]

33. If he sees his shadow, winter lasts six more weeks; if he doesn't, it's only 42 days.....

Sux either way. Last year, February lasted 84 days, so the damned rodent was off by a factor of two.......more's the pity that the critter ain't worth a damn to eat, or I'd be huntin' him down with dogs.

[bpollen]

34. The game is fixed!

If he sees his shadow, we have 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn't, we have a month and a half until spring. The calendar says the same thing. Whatever the hell Phil does, winter ends in about 45 days.