Feb. 2 marks Groundhog Day — the day when North America’s favourite weather prognosticators weigh in on whether we are in for an early spring or an extended winter.
In Balzac, located just north of Calgary, chants of “Billy, Billy, Billy!” greeted Alberta’s most famous rodent, known as Balzac Billy, as he emerged from his winter den to add his weather prediction to the day’s other furry forecasters.
Unlike groundhog traditions seen across North America, Balzac Billy — affectionately known as the “Prairie Prognosticator” — is a human-sized mascot who more closely resembles a Richardson ground squirrel, also known as a gopher, who emerges from a large burrow outside the Blue Grass Nursery and Garden Centre in Balzac.
Groundhog Day comes at the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
If the groundhog sees its shadow, it means six more weeks of winter, but a cloudy day means spring will arrive early.
Unfortunately, for those Albertans who are looking forward to spring, Balzac Billy was forced to flip on his sunglasses to block the glare of the sun as he emerged from the darkness of his winter den.
Despite the unseasonably warm forecasted high of 9 C in Balzac on Monday, the shadow that Billy casts means more winter weather is on the way in Alberta.
Real groundhogs are not native to Alberta.
The popularity of Groundhog Day — which is not based in science and is mostly just a few hours of early morning fun in the middle of winter — was supercharged by the 1993 Bill Murray film of the same name.
Balzac Billy is the brainchild of former CFAC Radio program director Jim Kunkel, along with former Global Calgary weather specialists Jimmy Hughes and Paul Dunphy.
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This year marks the 23rd time the current human-sized mascot has been sharing his spring weather prediction with Canadians.
America’s most famous groundhog, Puxasutawney Phil, also spotted his shadow this morning, when he emerged from his burrow in Gobbler’s Knob, Penn., forecasting six more weeks of winter.
In Ontario, Wiarton Willie did not see his shadow, predicting an early spring.
In Nova Scotia, some nasty winter weather with blowing snow and poor driving conditions, forced the celebration surrounding Shubenacadie Sam’s emergence from his burrow to be cancelled, prompting the provincial government to send out a news release saying that because Sam didn’t see his shadow, the forecast is for an early spring.
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