The groundhog has spoken. Six more weeks of winter. But he goes head to head with our Meteorologist Nathan Kitchens who has his own predictions.
Groundhog Day means Punxsutawney Phil makes his grand appearance to see whether spring is right around the corner, or six more harsh weeks of winter are ahead. The rodent has predicted the weather for the past 135 years, but his yearly prediction is only accurate about 38% of the time, meaning you are better off flipping a coin. His shadow has been seen about 80% of those years, meaning the groundhog will return to its burrow with six more weeks of winter.
What will the rest of our winter bring, looking from a scientific perspective? The winter started exceptionally warm in December, but the cold finally appeared over the past month. Snowfall has been considerably lacking, but it appears Mother Nature is making up for lost time this week. From a climate perspective, there has been a continued trend toward warmer and less snowy Decembers. Conversely, February is now our snowiest month, meaning the worst of winter is shifting to the back half of the season in recent years.
Despite periods of harsh winter weather over the next month, a La Nina pattern shows a higher likelihood of milder than normal temperatures, great news for those craving an early spring. Precipitation is favored to trend above normal, especially in March and April. Past years with a similar pattern suggest we need to watch for increased severe weather episodes this spring, with the La Nina pattern potentially breaking up by summer.
