It's been a warm winter for the Buckeye
state, and it's apparently ending a little early this year.
At sunrise Saturday morning, Ohio's own furry forecaster Buckeye Chuck failed to see his shadow.
According to tradition, that means an early spring instead of
six more weeks of winter. Under cloudy skies, before a crowd of about 200 people eating spam sandwiches and drinking hot chocolate, the groundhog was pulled from his cage at 7:42 a.m. His handlers report he looked around, but did not see his shadow.
The Ohio groundhog's more famous neighbor, Punxsutawney Phil,
did see his shadow in Pennsylvania, and is calling for
six more weeks of winter.
The Groundhog Day tradition comes from a German superstition
that says bad weather is coming if an animal casts a shadow on Feb.
2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas.
Buckeye Chuck was declared Ohio's official groundhog in 1979.
No word yet on what West Virginia's French Creek Freddy saw. He won't wake up to look at his shadow until 10 Saturday morning.
We also haven't heard yet from Bluegrass Bubba.
Happy Groundhog Day!