Groundhog day

From Glossary of Meteorology



Groundhog Day

2 February; in American folklore, a day that is popularly supposed to provide the key to the weather for the remainder of the winter.

Specifically, if the groundhog (woodchuck, Marmota monax), upon emerging from its hole, casts a shadow, it will return underground, thereby foreboding more wintry weather. There is no convincing statistical evidence to support this belief. This date, 2 February, is actually Candlemas Day, which is associated with similar beliefs in Europe, but in the United States, the popularity of this legend has come to overshadow the original significance of the day. One of the most popular Groundhog Day celebrations occurs in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, when the media gather at sunrise to see whether the local groundhog (named Phil) casts a shadow.
See control day.


Retrieved from "https://glossarystaging.ametsoc.net/w/index.php?title=Groundhog_day&oldid=19445"
Powered by MediaWiki
Powered by WikiTeq
Powered by Semantic MediaWiki
Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact permissions@ametsoc.org. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.