Six More Weeks of Winter? Not According to Staten Island Chuck
This morning, just after dawn, Punxsutawney Phil was roused from his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob and was greeted by a crowd of over 30,000 people. The fans that were anxiously awaiting Phil’s weather forecast didn’t receive good news and cheers turned to jeers upon hearing that, according to his handler, Phil saw his shadow and the United States will have six more weeks of winter.
But who needs a groundhog that lives in Pennsylvania? New Yorkers have their own groundhog, Staten Island Chuck. Staten Island Chuck, real name Chuck G. Hogg, is the Staten Island Zoo’s resident groundhog and, because he did not see his shadow this morning, predicted that spring is just around the corner.
Of course, this is only Chuck’s second year on the job, but he is the seventh descendant of the original Staten Island Chuck whose accuracy rate was an astounding 85%. I personally think Chuck might be onto something, especially considering that New York City just finished January with no significant amount of snowfall… the last time that happened was 75 years ago.
___________________________________________________________________
Comments Off