IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY 2010

Written by: Brian Neudorff

That's right Woodchuck Chuckers, it's GROUNDHOG DAY!!! This is one of my favorite holidays. It's just fun. I also love winter, so I am not too disappointed that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow which means 6 more weeks of winter.

Groundhog Day grew out of what had essentially been a German superstition. German settlers brought with them the idea that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says spring will come early.

It's pretty common for 'ol Punxsutawney Phil to see his shadow. Of his 113 predictions, Phil has seen his shadow 99 times or 87% of the time with only 14 times he has predicted an early spring.

As far as Phil's accuracy, if you ask the Inner Circle who takes care of Phil he is right 100% of the time but according to StormFax Weather Almanac, and records kept since 1887, Phil is right only 39% of the time.

Thanks to the 1993 movie staring Bill Murray, Punxsutawney Phil may be the best known of the Groundhogs but he isn't the only furry forecaster making predictions on February 2nd. In fact, there are several across the United States and Canada and one right here in Western New York. Here is a short list of other known Groundhogs and their predictions for 2010.

• Dunkirk Dave (Dunkirk, NY) - Saw no Shadow, an early Spring
• Wiarton Willie (South Bruce Peninsula, Ontario CA) - Saw his Shadow, 6 more weeks of winter
• Staten Island Chuck - (Staten Island, NY) - Saw no Shadow, an early Spring
• Shubenacadie Sam (Nova Scotia CA) - Saw his Shadow, 6 more weeks of winter

Of course this is a very small list of all the Groundhog celebrations across North America, you can see more here at "Groundhog Central"

Of course as far as my official forecast for spring is that it will arrive March 20th but we all know here in Western New York that spring never arrives then but usually around mid April. Have a great day everyone.