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Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter weather — here's what spring will actually be like, according to a meteorologist
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow in Pennsylvania, predicting six more weeks of cold. But in New York, Staten Island Chuck suggested an early spring is coming.
On Friday morning, Punxsutawney Phil popped out in Pennsylvania and delivered his annual prediction for when winter will end: after seeing his shadow, he proclaimed six more frigid weeks of cold. Meanwhile, in New York City, Staten Island Chuck declared an early spring is on the way.
Groundhogs, it turns out, aren't great forecasters. Records show that Punxsutawney Phil actually performs worse than a coin toss when it comes to predicting the end of winter chill. The rodent's guesses are only accurate about 30% of the time. (It's probably not a shock that his shadow-checking technique doesn't actually work.)
The bizarre tradition of asking groundhogs what they think about the arrival of spring weather is an imported idea from Germany, where they originally used European badgers for the task. In the US, groundhogs were subbed in.
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The logic is not completely crazy. Skies are generally clearer when the air is dry and cold, so it could be that if a little woodchuck sees his shadow on the day halfway between winter solstice (the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere) and the spring equinox (when day and night are evenly split), that might mean the weather will continue to be cold.
But relying on a single moment's conditions to predict an entire season is obviously silly.
Asking the real experts
A warm springs likely in store
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