Crash the River Rascal Delivers His Groundhog Day Forecast for 2026

After weeks and weeks of relentless cold winter weather, many Michiganders were hoping to get a reprieve with some good news on Groundhog Day.

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The big star in the groundhog world is the one and only Punxsutawney Phil who’s been predicting the weather since 1887.

How Does Punxsutawney Phil Predict The Weather

Punxsutawney Phil has a pretty important job, that's probably why he spends 364 days a year relaxing and saving up his energy for his big day.

Every February 2, Punxsutawney Phil comes out of his burrow to predict if spring is coming early or if the winter weather is sticking around a little longer.

If the sun is shining and Phil sees his shadow, it means 6 more weeks of winter are expected.

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If cloudy, and no shadow is seen, that means an early spring is on its way.

Regrettably, Phil saw his shadow, which means we've got 6 more weeks of winter.

Phil’s not the only animal predicting the weather.

At the Howell Nature Center they turn to Woody The Woodchuck who also saw her shadow.

And in West Michigan another animal was called upon to make the prediction.

Fox 17 reporter Andy Curtis was able to catch The West Michigan Whitecaps beloved mascot Crash the River Rascal on video stepping outside to make his own prediction.

Crash also saw his shadow, which means it's a 3 way consensus that Winter is here for a little bit longer.

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