Groundhog's Day, February 2nd

After another beautiful day here in Laguna Niguel my thoughts turn to chilly Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the most famous location for Groundhog's day, February 2nd. Originally this was a European tradition, called Candlemas, and it was a day to prognosticate the weather. If we check the calendar, February 2nd is about six weeks into winter. And for most people that was plenty and they wanted an early spring.

The familiar story goes that if the groundhog pops out of his burrow and see his shadow then there is six more weeks of winter weather. But if he doesn't see his shadow, and that would be because it's cloudy that day, then people can expect an early spring. By the calendar spring is still seven weeks away from February 2nd and that's a long time to be cold.

Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog weather predictor, has been correct about 39% of the time according to StormFax Weather Almanac, which they say is a bit above the 33% that could happen by chance. There are Groundhog's Day celebrations that go on all over the country. Each groundhog has his own prediction score.

There are other traditions for predicting the weather.

“The higher the clouds the finer the weather” is one saying. So if the sky has high, wispy clouds then the weather will be good but low, puffy clouds with a round top and flat base could mean a thunderstorm is brewing.

“Ring around the Moon, the rain comes soon”. A halo around the moon at night portends trouble in many cultures but in weather prediction it means that a warm front will bring precipitation.

“Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning”. If you're up to see the sunrise and it's red it means that the dry air has pass you by and a storm is on it's way.