Shadow or no Shadow what does it all mean???  Each year mid-winter the groundhog comes out to give us some indication as to what to expect for the remainder of the winter.  While this is more superstition or folklore it is still a fascinating story.  Have you ever wondered how he makes his predictions? Well, here is the simplified explanation.

According to legend if it is a sunny day and the groundhog comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow he gets scared. He then scurries back to his secure burrow and goes back to sleep. This means there will be six more weeks of winter. Now, if the day is cloudy and no shadow is seen, the groundhog will remain outside and that means spring is on its way.

It has been a very mild winter here in northern Ohio.  Next Tuesday’s forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies and a slight chance of snow.  If the groundhog lived here in Toledo, I would say our chances of an early spring is pretty good.  Since that is not the case we’ll have to wait to see how this all plays out next Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed and I hope your winter weather forecast is exactly what you want it to be…