Warm winter ahead for most Canadians: Says Sam and Willie

Nova Scotia groundhog Shubenacadie Sam and Ontario's Wiarton Willie are predicting an early spring after emerging from hibernation without seeing their shadows. But their American counterpart disagrees.

Susan Penney of the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park says about 150 cheered Sam's forecast on an overcast day at the park, about a 45-minute drive outside of Halifax.

Groundhogs are being consulted Thursday regarding the long-term weather outlook, something human forecasters have struggled with recently. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

"I don't think we are going to have balmy spring weather tomorrow, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel," she said.

Willie also failed to see his shadow in the annual Groundhog Day ritual this morning, which according to legend means spring will arrive early.

But south of the border, Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney emerged from his lair to "see" his shadow on Thursday, predicting six more weeks of winter.

The groundhog made his "prediction" on Gobbler's Knob, a tiny hill in the town for which he's named about 100 kilometres northeast of Pittsburgh.

Temperatures were near freezing when he emerged at dawn, which is unseasonably warm for the area.

Human weather experts say Canada's favourite four-legged forecasters are predicting the end of something that hasn't even started. Unseasonably warm temperatures from coast to coast have made winter a non-event for most Canadians.

They say there's been less snow than expected from coast to coast thanks to an Arctic oscillation, which keeps the jet stream over northern Canada and most of the cool air from flowing further south.

They're predicting more warm weather throughout February, but say it's too early to assume we're done with snow for the season.

CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe commented that her research suggests groundhogs are only about 33 per cent accurate in their predictions, but weather forecasters enjoy Feb. 2 as a holiday from work, as their jobs are "turned over to the rodents for a day."