Move Over Phil; The Hudson Valley’s Own Weather Predicting Animal

With Groundhog Day approaching this Monday, the eyes of the world will be on Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, but they should be right here in the Hudson Valley.

Phil has been calling the shots on winter for well over one hundred years. Local historians say the very first “official” Groundhog Day happened in Pennsylvania in 1887, when a group of newspapermen and town leaders gathered on Gobbler’s Knob to watch a groundhog predict the weather. Before that, European settlers brought over old folklore that used hibernating animals to forecast the seasons, and somewhere along the way, Phil became the star of the show.

Every year on February 2, the town packs into the tiny hillside clearing to watch handlers lift the famous groundhog out of his burrow and read his winter forecast. The Inner Circle, dressed in top hats and tuxedos, claims Phil is more than one hundred years old thanks to a special “elixir of life,” which is part of the fun. After a quick whisper, it's declared whether we will have an early spring or a longer winter season.

Where is the Hudson Valley's Weather Predicting Animal?

Of course, Phil isn't the only animal that has a say in the arrival of spring. Staten Island Chuck gives his own prediction each February 2 and has built up a loyal following downstate. There’s also Milltown Mel in New Jersey, Wiarton Willie up in Canada, and even a forecasting hedgehog in Ohio that locals swear by.

So where is the Hudson Valley's weather-predicting animal? Some locals claim that the markings on woolly bear caterpillars or the behavior of birds can give a rough estimate of the severity of winter, but we don't have a singular mascot that we can turn to for a definitive prediction, and I think that's a shame.

So, let's see if we can change that.

We're putting a call out for a unique pet or barnyard animal that will be willing to give us a prediction on the weather this year. With so many farms in the area, there must be someone out there who has noticed a chicken or pig that has shown a penchant for meteorology.

Maybe you've got a pet hamster who jumps up and down whenever you turn on the Weather Channel or a turtle that looks just like Sam Champion. Now's their time to shine.

Drop us an email with a picture of your weather-loving pet and describe why they should be the Hudson Valley's answer to the groundhog. Who knows? We may just ask you to share your prediction live on the air this Monday morning.

You can send you entries to boris@wpdh.com or text them to us directly through the WPDH app. And be sure to tune in on Monday morning to The Boris Show on 101.5 WPDH to find out just what these animals have to say about when this frigid winter will finally end.