The first of Canada’s celebrity groundhogs is out with his long-range weather forecast — and the news isn’t good.
Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam emerged from his burrow this morning and saw his shadow, which according to groundhog folklore means we can expect six more weeks of winter.
Later this morning Ontario’s Wiarton Willie will give us his prognostication.
Last year, only Willie was correct when he spotted his shadow.
Neither Shubenacadie Sam nor the lesser-known Winnipeg Willow saw theirs, thereby forecasting an early spring.
They were wrong. A polar vortex plunged Canada into a brutal winter that dragged on and on.
Environment Canada has already crunched the data for the next month and come up with this prediction: February will be colder than normal across the country.
Senior climatologist Dave Phillips notes Wiarton Willie’s overall record is spotty, but says predicting the weather is a tough gig.
“His batting average is not that great… but hey, neither is ours.”