Canada's Groundhog Day 2024 Forecast Is Out & Here's When Spring Is Expected To Arrive
It's Groundhog Day! Canada's groundhogs have made predictions for whether spring will start early in Canada or if we've got more winter to get through.
If you're not familiar with the event, legend has it that on February 2, watching a groundhog emerge from its burrow can determine the weather forecast for the coming weeks.
If the groundhog sees its shadow, it goes back to sleep, meaning six more weeks of winter. However, if the groundhog doesn't see its shadow, it stays outside, meaning that the worst of winter is over and spring will soon arrive.
Will Canada get an early spring?
Wiarton Willie, one of the more famous groundhogs of Canada who lives in Wiarton, Ontario, has made his predictions for how the next few weeks will play out.
On Friday, Willie came out of his home and told South Bruce Mayor Jay Kirkland that he did not see his shadow, signalling an early spring.
This is the third year in a row that Willie did not see his shadow, according to a CBC News report, leading to the prediction of an early spring.
What did the other Canadian groundhogs have to say?
Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia was the first groundhog to make predictions, predicting an early spring for Canada.
Sam has also had a 58% success rate with weather predictions since 2000, according to The Weather Network, the highest of Canada's groundhogs.
Over in Quebec, Fred la Marmotte, the groundhog who has made predictions for the region since 2019, unfortunately died, but his successor, known as Fred Junior, has delivered this year's prediction, also saying that Canadians can expect an early spring.
While not a groundhog, Lucy the Lobster, who makes predictions in Barrington, Nova Scotia, had something a bit different to say.
The lobster predicted "six more weeks of wonderful winter" after seeing her shadow on Friday morning.
Spring in Canada 2024
Spring starts in Canada as of March 1, but once it does roll around, Canada is apparently in for a "polar coaster" of a season that will have periods of chilled weather and seesaw temperatures.
According to a spring forecast by the Farmer's Almanac, the warm weather will take its time arriving in Canada, with the season's outlook predicting chilly, cool, or cold conditions across the country, and several more snowstorms on the way for most regions.
So while the groundhogs may be right about an early spring, it might not be the warm spring Canadians have in mind.
