While North Texas has experienced rather moderate winter weather, everyone hopes the groundhog will predict an early spring when he pops out of his burrow on Feb. 2.
The tale goes if the groundhog sees his shadow we will have six more weeks of winter, but if he doesn’t then spring is just around the corner.
Groundhog day is actually rooted in astronomy with the date tied to the movement of the earth around the sun. It marks the approximate halfway point between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox.
How often has the groundhog really predicted the coming of spring? According to researchers, the groundhog has accurately predicted the coming of spring only 39 percent of the time (at the time of this writing).
Of course, it’s all in good humor. As the Farmer’s Almanac says, “If he sees his shadow, we’ll have six more weeks of winter; if he doesn’t, it’ll be six weeks until spring” because, of course, the dates of the equinox do not change.
No matter what the percentage, it’s a fun time had by all.
According to the almanac’s long-range forecast, cloudy skies are expected to give way to sunshine on Feb.2, enough sun, at least, for the popular spokesman Punxsutawney Phil to see his shadow and present us with six more weeks of winter. Given the way this winter has been going so far, hopefully it won’t be too harsh, though colder temperatures are predicted for a large part of the U.S. in February.