There will be six more weeks of winter – or early spring – depending on which groundhog prognosticator you choose to believe.
Groundhogs emerged from their burrows to much fanfare and anticipation on February 2 as Groundhog Day observers waited to hear their predictions.
Yonah at North Georgia Wildlife Park in White County did not see her shadow, according to her handlers, predicting an early spring.
Fellow Georgian Gen. Beauregard Lee delivered the same prediction from his home at the Dauset Trails Nature Center in Jackson.
But up north in Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow.
According to folklore, if groundhogs see their shadow there will be six more weeks of winter; if they don’t, it will be an early spring.
While Punxsutawney Phil has long been the go-to rodent for annual weather predictions, Georgia’s groundhogs have cornered their own little market on fame.
After a year with no crowds due to the pandemic, General Beauregard Lee woke up Wednesday morning to a crowd eager to see what his weather prediction would be in 2022.
Yonah remained socially distanced at North Georgia Wildlife Park, but people from across the state tuned in to the park’s livestream on 2-2-22. In 2019, the park hosted a public Groundhog Day event at Freedom Park in Cleveland that was well attended. Park officials say they hope to return to a live in-person event in the future.
