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Punxsutawney Phil and Woody the Woodchuck have each issued their winter/spring predictions, and it’s a split decision. Phil saw his shadow today which means we’ll have more winter, but Woody didn’t and predicts an early Spring. I will choose Woody’s prediction because I like it better. Also, Woody is a girl, so her female intuition probably gives her an edge. See, wasn’t that easy? Time, of course, will prove one of them right. Whoever gets this year right, I will believe next year.

Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

Punxsutawney Phil Sees Shadow, Predicts More Winter

The groundhog called Phil emerged from his burrow this morning in central Pennsylvania and saw his shadow, which according to legend signals there will be six more weeks of winter in the U.S.

Phil’s handlers, John Griffiths and Ben Hughes, removed him from his stump-shaped shelter on a stage in Punxsutawney at 7:27 a.m. local time and proclaimed he saw his shadow. The forecast elicited some boos from the crowd of about 30,000 gathered to await the 122nd annual weather prediction… If he sees his shadow, there’ll be six more weeks of winter weather, and if he doesn’t, there will be an early spring, according to an old German superstition.

Woody of Howell, Michigan

Woody says prepare for an early spring

Woody the woodchuck, Livingston County’s famous female weather prognosticator, proved Saturday that she’s got a sense of humor.

The groundhog stayed out of her hutch through the count of 30 before heading back in on 31. She resurfaced again before the count of 35 – leading staff at the Howell Conference and Nature Center to assume Woody must be predicting an early spring.

“It was a photo finish,” said Dana DeBenham, the center’s wildlife director, who blamed noise on Woody’s last-minute run for the hutch. “I don’t think she saw her shadow. I think she was frightened by the crowd.”

The process goes like this: Woody is coaxed out of her hutch and has 30 seconds to see her shadow. If she’s frightened and returns to the hutch, that means six more weeks of winter. If Woody is still outside after 30 seconds, that means a prediction for an early spring.

“It’s all very scientific,” DeBenham joked to the Saturday morning crowd who witnessed the event and helped with the count. “She’s been right seven out of nine times.”