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Malverne Mel – Long Island’s resident weather forecasting groundhog – did not see his shadow when he emerged from his burrow at Crossroads Farm on Friday, Feb. 2 meaning, according to lore, that early spring weather is right around the corner.
Mel was in agreement with his fellow Long Islander Holtsville Hal and their more famous cousin from Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil, who also called for an early spring after their shadows failed to materialize on this Groundhog Dog.
The furry fellas were backed up by some other weather-predicting animals in the region – including Beardsley Bart, a prairie dog in Bridgeport, Connecticut – and Cluxatawney Henrietta, a chicken in the Northern Westchester town of Somers.
Out west, weather enthusiasts were still waiting to hear from Mojavae Maxine, a prognosticating desert tortoise in California’s Coachella Valley.
She was expected to see sun and shadow, indicating six more weeks of winter, according to Jerry Steffen, a meteorologist for Palm Springs station KMIR.
Observed in the United States and Canada each year on Feb. 2, Groundhog Day traces its origins to the Pennsylvania Dutch.
While certainly a fun tradition, track records show no consistent correlation between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the arrival of spring-like weather.
Watch video of Malverne Mel's prediction below.
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