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| Groundhog via Rick LaClaire |
Because tomorrow, Feb 2nd, is Groundhog's Day, I would like to share this site. Being a scientist and all, I've always wondered... truly how scientific is it to have a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, predict our Winter season by whether he sees his shadow or not. Do groundhogs even see or care to see their shadow?
So, scientifically questioning, how accurate is Punxsutawney Phil? "According to Stormfax.com, Punxsutawney Phil has only been correct approximately 39% of the time." With that percentage, we are better off guessing the opposite! Which brings me to this point: Why does seeing a shadow provide a prediction of a longer (six weeks to be exact) winter? Shadows tell me that there is light, since groundhogs' natural habitat is outside, the light must come from the sun. I generally correlate sun to heat, and warm weather. Warm weather doesn't mean winter to me.
Either way, "weather" you love Winter or Spring, I think we are all just excited to see the groundhog rather than his "forecast" of the next six weeks because my weatherman can tell me that, and still be wrong!
Happy Friday and Groundhog's Day!!
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Phil didn't "see" his shadow so according to the legend, Spring is coming early but according to Phil's accuracy ratings and the theory above, we may be getting six more weeks of Winter!
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