Canada91裸聊视频檚 famous prognosticating rodents were split over spring91裸聊视频檚 arrival on Groundhog Day.
Ontario91裸聊视频檚 Wiarton Willie reportedly did not see his shadow on Sunday morning, which is good news for people tired of wintry weather. But Nova Scotia91裸聊视频檚 Shubenacadie Sam and Quebec91裸聊视频檚 Fred la Marmotte saw their shadows, predicting a long winter ahead.
The tradition holds that if a groundhog doesn91裸聊视频檛 see its shadow on Groundhog Day, springlike weather will soon arrive. But if a shadow appears, winter91裸聊视频檚 icy grip won91裸聊视频檛 let go for quite some time.
Those keeping the Wiarton Willie tradition alive in Ontario91裸聊视频檚 South Bruce Peninsula carried the white-haired groundhog inside a see-through boxfilled with a bed of straw to a stage around 8 a.m.
Wiarton Mayor Jay Kirkland, who per local tradition is the only person who can speak 91裸聊视频淕roundhogese,91裸聊视频 put his ear to the box and then announced Willie91裸聊视频檚 prediction of an early spring to the crowd.
91裸聊视频淲illie didn91裸聊视频檛 see his shadow. We will have an early spring,91裸聊视频 Mayor Kirkland said to cheering crowd.
Nova Scotia91裸聊视频檚 beloved celebrity groundhog, Shubenacadie Sam, predicted a long winter ahead.
The large rodent poked her nose out from the pint-sized barn door of her enclosure at a wildlife park north of Halifax Sunday morning and stepped out into the -18 C cold.
She spent a few moments sniffing the air and looking around at the crowd that gathered on the sunny and frigid morning to watch her prediction, before turning around and heading back inside her enclosure.
91裸聊视频淣ot surprisingly, it seems Sam wants to get back inside,91裸聊视频 Andrew Boyne, the director of the wildlife division at the Department of Natural Resources, told the crowd.
Boyne said Sam saw her shadow, which folklore says means six more weeks of cold, wintry weather.
91裸聊视频淢ore winter!91裸聊视频 He exclaimed.
No shadow is said to foretell the early arrival of spring-like temperatures.
Living on the East Coast, Shubenacadie Sam is typically the first groundhog in North America to issue a long-term forecast.
She is followed by Quebec91裸聊视频檚 Fred la Marmotte, who made the same prediction of a longer winter, and Ontario91裸聊视频檚 Wiarton Willie.
In Val d91裸聊视频橢spoir, in Quebec91裸聊视频檚 Gasp茅sie region, the temperature hovered at -18 C as furry forecaster Fred was scooped from a tiny log cabin, blinking in the bright sunshine as he was brandished in front of the crowd. There was a mixture of cheers and groans as the mayor of the nearby town of Perc茅 announced Fred91裸聊视频檚 prediction: a late spring.
91裸聊视频淒on91裸聊视频檛 put away the skidoos! Bring out the snowshoes!91裸聊视频 cried out another mayor, who was joined on stage by a human-sized dancing Fred mascot and local children and politicians.
In western Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and is predicting six more weeks of wintry weather, his top-hatted handlers announced Sunday.
A massive crowd was on hand to hear the woodchuck91裸聊视频檚 weather forecast, an annual ritual that has boomed in public interest since Bill Murray91裸聊视频檚 1993 movie, 91裸聊视频淕roundhog Day.91裸聊视频
In medieval Europe, farmers believed that if hedgehogs emerged from their burrows to catch insects it was a sure sign of an early spring.