Six more weeks of winter as major storm strikes on Groundhog Day

Happy Groundhog Day! I begin with WLTX in Columbia, South Carolina reporting Groundhog Day 2022 Prediction: Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow.

Punxsutawney Phil has emerged from his burrow to forecast there will be six more weeks of winter. The spectacle that is Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, was back to full status.

I'm not surprised. It would be difficult to predict an early spring when a major winter storm stretching from New Mexico to Maine is dropping snow and ice across the country. At least the crowd watching was enthused enough to chant "Six more weeks." I guess they're just happy to be in person during the pandemic after last year's scaled-down ceremony.

Normally, I'd check Phil's prognostication against that of Woody the Woodchuck in Howell, Michigan because she's more accurate and it's local, but Winter Storm Landon, as The Weather Channel calls it, has other plans as MLive reported Winter says, ‘Not yet.’ Snowstorm delays Woody the Woodchuck’s Groundhog Day prediction.

Winter promises to make its presence known on the very day Michigan’s official groundhog was set to weigh in on the possibility of the season’s early end.

Woody the Woodchuck’s annual prediction has been delayed because of the impending snowstorm, the Howell Nature Center announced in an email on Feb. 1, Groundhog Day eve.

The announcement said the center made the “difficult decision” under the guidance of Woody and its meteorological expert, now that a winter storm warning is in effect for Livingston County and most of southern Michigan.

The in-person event has been rescheduled for 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 5.

I bet Woody's handler will say Michigan will have six more weeks of winter on Friday, too.

Speaking of Winter Storm Landon, check out the preview image for WGALTV's Weather planner for central Pennsylvania on Groundhog Day.

Here's your central Pennsylvania weather planner for Groundhog Day!

Metro Detroit is in the middle of the storm path and we're due for a lot of snow. Again, check out the preview image for WDIV/Click on Detroit's Metro Detroit weather forecast Feb. 1, 2022 -- 11 p.m. Update.


Piles of snow! Just based on the forecast, hundreds of schools closed in advance of the storm, including the college where I teach, although I'm running my classes remotely, so my class today is still meeting over Zoom. No snow day for me today!

I close with KDKA/CBS Pittsburgh asking oes Groundhog Day Also Predict Political Races?

KDKA's Jon Delano takes an interesting look back at whether Punxsutawney Phil's weather prognostications also impact political races.

The answer is sort of, and apparently only for Pennsylvania. I'm not impressed.