Minutes after Punxsutawney Phil predicted a similar sunny outlook, a New York City rodent meteorologist predicted that another sunny day could be here soon.
Staten Island Chuck, also known as Charles G. Hogg, didn’t see his shadow early Friday morning at the Staten Island Zoo’s annual Groundhog Day ceremony.
If Chuck had seen his shadow, as has been the tradition for centuries, New York City would have been in for another six weeks of brutal cold.
But by Friday morning, there was no shadow in sight, and Chuck sided with the majority of New Yorkers. I voted in the zoo poll. They said they think warmer weather may be just around the corner.
It was the same as Punxsutawney Phil’s prophecy. He too could not see his own shadow at Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania.
Chuck has gotten this long-range forecast correct every time for the past 14 years, so this is good news for those looking to shed their winter coats. The Staten Island Advance reported.
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The last time Chuck was wrong was in 2009, when he bit former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Fox News meteorologist Greg Diamond said Chuck and Phil’s predictions are certain to come true in the coming weeks, but the sunny outlook may not last long.
“It looks like winter is completely on hold for another two weeks,” he told the Post on Friday.
However, he said temperatures in the region could become colder again during the last few weeks of February as we head into March.
But this year’s celebrations also had a solemn undertone. It was to commemorate his 10th anniversary since the death of his beloved groundhog, Charlotte.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped a groundhog in 2014 when the anxious rodent tried to writhe.
Charlotte died a week later from internal injuries.
