Other Animals Besides The Groundhog Predicting Weather Today

Friday is Groundhog Day, when the country turns to Punxsutawney Phil to find out if we have six more weeks of winter weather in store. Legend has it that if the rodent in the small Pennsylvania town sees his shadow on February 2nd, winter will continue, and if not, spring will come early. While Phil gets all the attention, he’s not the only animal making weather predictions.

We have for years been relying on General Beauregard Lee from Georgia for our weather predictions.

These are some of the other animal forecasters across the country who will be hard at work to tell us if winter will end.

• Fufu the hedgehog has been making predictions at The Oregon Zoo for a few years now and has an accuracy rate of about 53%, slightly better than Punxsutawney Phil’s 40%.
• In Southwest Florida, it's Ground Owl Day on February 2nd. The Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife and Cape Coral Parks & Recreation host the event to find out if Athene the burrowing owl will see its shadow, and if it does, six more weeks of winter are on the way.
• A white squirrel has been the weather forecaster for the last 10 years in Brevard, North Carolina. It used to be Pisgah Pete, but since he retired, Penelope Ella Catherine Elizabeth, known as Pisgah Penny, has taken over.
• New York’s Clucksatawney Henrietta the chicken has been determining if winter is over since 2019. But it’s not about if the bird sees her shadow, it’s when she lays her egg that matters. If it happens during the annual Groundhog Day ceremony, spring is coming early, if not, winter is sticking around.
• In Connecticut, Scramble the Duck makes the yearly prediction and its handlers claim it’s the most accurate weather-predicting groundhog alternative on Earth.
• Texas has Bob the Armadillo, who’s driven from Katy to Bee Cave to make his annual forecast.
• Stumptown Fil, also known as Filbert the Beaver also makes predictions at The Oregon Zoo, but he doesn’t always get it right. In 2020, Fil predicted an early spring, but a month later, the zoo had to close because of snow and ice.