Groundhog Day 2012: Predictions from Across the U.S. and Canada

Groundhog Day is upon us once again! The day in which a cute, furry animal determines what the weather will be like for the next three months, give or take.

Every Feb. 2, for the past 126 years, on Groundhog's Day, a groundhog is awoken from its hibernation. If the groundhog sees its shadow, that is a signal of six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't, then spring is right around the corner. So what are the predictions? It is very rare that each groundhog in every city or county will see the same thing.

In Punxsutawney, Pa., the famed Punxsutawney Phil was brought out of his sleep in front of a large crowd of approximately 18,000.

This is perhaps one of the largest weekday crowds we've had, announced Jeff Mundy an Inner Circle member, as reported in a previous article.

Should he see his shadow there will be two winters, Mundy told a crowd that subsequently started booing. Should he not see his shadow, spring will be around the corner.

Unfortunately for Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil reportedly saw his shadow approximately 7:25 a.m.

However, is Phil's prediction correct?

Because the year's coldest quarter, also known as meteorological winter, runs from Dec. 5 to March 5, Phil's accuracy in predicting a longer winter is about 80 percent, AccuWeather wrote.

Other groundhogs across North America don't appear to agree with Phil either.

Just a state away in New York, Staten Island Chuck, of Richmond County, reportedly did not see his shadow and is calling for an early spring. In 2009, a tense standoff erupted between Staten Island Chuck and Mayor Bloomberg. Chuck reportedly bit the mayor on his hand. However, this time, things went much more smoothly.

Chuckles the Connecticut groundhog also did not see his shadow, according to a Tweet from Manchester Patch.

Canada also celebrated Groundhog Day and the Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam and Ontario's Wiarton Willie did not see their shadow, meaning no more winter for Canada, reported the National Post.

So, there appears to be some discrepancy between the various groundhogs. Only time will tell to see which groundhog has the proper foresight into North America's weather.