Monday marked the 47th annual forecast for Buckeye Chuck, Ohio’s official groundhog.
After a week that brought a foot of snow and frigid temperatures to Ohio, many residents were hoping for good news. Buckeye Chuck did not see his shadow Monday morning at the Marion County Fairgrounds Coliseum, signaling an early spring, according to WMRN radio.
It is the seventh time in the past eight years that Buckeye Chuck has not seen his shadow, which according to tradition means an early spring. By contrast, seeing his shadow would indicate six more weeks of winter.
Buckeye Chuck has served as Ohio’s official groundhog since 1979. He lives at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, located behind the studios of WMRN. Organizers say Chuck’s predictions have been accurate more than half the time, a rate higher than that of Punxsutawney Phil, Pennsylvania’s famed groundhog, whose predictions are correct about 35% of the time.
In Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Monday, forecasting six more weeks of winter, according to multiple reports. It is the fifth time in the past seven years Phil has seen his shadow.
This marks the second consecutive year the two groundhogs’ predictions have differed.
Spring officially begins March 20.
