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Can groundhogs accurately predict the weather?

No. Over a 6o-year period, groundhogs have accurately predicted the start of spring only 28 percent of the time on Groundhog Day.

Groundhog Day was first celebrated in Germany, where farmers would watch for a badger to emerge from winter hibernation. If the day was sunny, the sleepy badger would be frightened by its shadow and duck back for another six weeks' nap. If it was cloudy he would stay out, assuming that spring had arrived.

German farmers who emigrated to Pennsylvania brought the tradition to America. Finding no badgers in Pennsylvania, they chose the groundhog as a substi-tute.

Sources: Berliner. Barbara. The Book of Answers, p. 92; Sanders, Dennis. The First of Everything, pp. 369-70.

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