Groundhog Day forecast: almost all pivotal groundhogs agree that it will be a short winter

Groundhog Day forecast: almost all pivotal groundhogs agree that it will be a short winter

Wiarton Willie saw a winter this big (Image: Explore the Bruce)

The groundhogs have weighed in, and it’s nearly unanimous: Punxsutawney Phil, Wiarton Willie and Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam all failed to see their shadows today, declaring that Canada and the U.S. would see an early spring. With arbitrary, superstitious consensus like that, it’s a sure thing, right?

Not so much. Check out this quote from the website of Alberta’s Balzac Billy.

Today at our Annual Groundhog Day Breakfast at Blue Grass Nursery & Garden Centre Balzac Billy saw his shadow and that means he’s predicted 6 more weeks of winter!

So bundle up for a few more months friends!

(Balzac Billy resides just a few kilometers north of Calgary. We promise not to quote a Groundhog’s website again until this time next year.)

Does this mean that North American opinion is divided? Or perhaps the east will bask in an early spring while Alberta shivers through a long winter? Whatever. Between the windfall from high oil prices and their moderate, charismatic mayor, Calgary can let eastern Canada have this one and still come out ahead.

• Groundhogs predict spring on the way [Toronto Sun]
No shadows for Wiarton Willie, Shubenacadie Sam: both predict early spring [CP24]
Punxsutawney Phil: 2011 will see early spring. Can we trust a groundhog? [Christian Science Monitor]