Early spring or more winter? Ohio’s groundhog makes his 2024 prediction

MARION, OH — It’s Groundhog Day. Again.

While most eyes are on Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania, Ohio’s Buckeye Chuck is making his 2024 prediction.

The groundhog is touted as “Ohio’s Chief Prognosticating Groundhog since 1979.”

Will it be six more weeks of winter or an early spring? Well, Buckeye Chuck did not see his shadow, which means he’s betting on an early spring.

Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania rodent who predicts either the coming of spring or the continuation of winter, also did not see his shadow Friday, meaning there will be an early spring. Or, at least that’s what the legend says.

Early Friday, with temperatures around 36 degrees, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle brought Phil out of his den in Gobbler’s Knob in front of a large crowd to “hear” his prediction.

Records kept since 1887, when the first Phil made his prediction, show the groundhog has been right only about 39% of the time, according to the Stormfax Weather Almanac.

First celebration: The first Groundhog Day was celebrated at Gobbler’s Knob on Feb. 2, 1887. According to History.com, the idea came from Clymer Freas, a newspaper editor in Punxsutawney, who belonged to a group of groundhog hunters. His newspaper, The Punxsutawney Spirit, is credited with printing the news of the first observance in 1886, according to the website of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

Origins: The day was originally known as Candlemas Day, which was the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It was celebrated in Europe, with Germans adopting a hedgehog to determine whether the rest of the winter would be bitter or mild. German settlers who came to Pennsylvania in the 18th century continued the tradition, substituting a groundhog.

Other predictors: What other rodents predict the weather on Feb. 2? Birmingham Bill, who prognosticates from the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama; and Staten Island Chuck in the New York metropolitan area. Not to be outdone, Canada has its own rodent, Shubenacadie Sam, who emerges from his burrow in Nova Scotia.

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