Port Stanley’s Princess Sandy predicts early spring while experts expect cold, stormy February

It was music to the ears of Port Stanley residents Friday morning as Princess Sandy Stanley made her annual spring prediction.

For the third straight year, Princess Sandy saw her shadow as she emerged from her burrow, calling for an early spring.

Her prediction didn’t really align with Friday’s forecast, as Environment Canada issued a special weather statement, and the Middlesex-London Health Unit had a cold weather alert in place.

Now Sandy isn’t your typical groundhog, she’s actually a skinny pig.

Princess Sandy made her prediction at Port Stanley’s Pierside Pub shortly after 8 a.m.

Pub owner Brent Noels, who looks after Sandy year around, says this year’s event was a bit colder.

“The last two years were hovering around zero, so we put a little sweater on her that was actually one of my old socks,” said Noels.

“Skinny pigs don’t like the cold. It can even cause them to have a heart attack. We don’t want that, so we put a little sock on her to keep her warm.”

In an effort to keep her warm, Noels kept Sandy inside until it was time to make her prediction.

“The sun was actually out but the clouds came out just as we were doing the prediction, so no shadow,” Noels said.

“Fantastic news, living near the beach we want an early spring every year.”

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It’s the third year Noels has hosted the Groundhog Day event. Noels says Sandy has quickly become a celebrity around town.

“She’s the talk of the town,” Noels said. “It’s a great promotion for the town and all locals get really excited about it.”

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Richard Haddow has attended the event all three years, and says the town really gets behind the furry forecaster.

“She’s the talk of all the local coffee shops,” Haddow says.

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Sandy will be at the Port Stanley Library over the next week.

There were mixed predictions among Canadian groundhogs, as some emerged to see their shadow, while others didn’t.

Folklore has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day he’ll flee to his burrow, heralding six more weeks of winter.

This year, it appears Princess Sandy may just be telling people what they want to hear.

Global News Chief Meteorologist Anthony Farnell told 980 CFPL that experts expect a drawn out winter.

“I would generally lean towards the six more weeks of winter considering it’s early February,” he said.

“Especially this year, we’re going to be seeing quite a bit of cold and likely storminess. That includes some big snow events in the coming weeks. I am thinking that this winter is going to drag on a little longer than many of us would like.”

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He said recent mild weather will actually result in more lake effect snow this month.

“The ice formation on Lake Huron has basically stopped or even reversed a bit. We’re still now dealing with an open Lake Huron and that can spell more bouts of wintry weather as we move forward for the London area.”

In the short term, another system is on its way to London for the weekend with up to 10 centimetres of additional accumulation possible by Monday morning.