Staten Island Chuck is ready for spring
Sunny days may soon be here again, New York City’s own rodent meteorologist has predicted minutes after Punxsutawney Phil predicted the same sunny outlook.
Staten Island Chuck, also known as Charles G. Hogg, did not see his shadow early Friday morning at the Staten Island Zoo’s annual Groundhog Day ceremony.
As the centuries-old tradition goes, had Chuck seen his shadow, New York City would be left with six more weeks of brutal, cold temperatures.
But with no shadow to be seen on Friday morning, Chuck sided with a majority of New Yorkers who voted in the zoo’s poll saying they think warm weather may be right around the corner.
That was the same as predicted by Punxsutawney Phil, who also failed to see his shadow in Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania.
That spells good news for those ready to ditch their winter coats, as Chuck has been right about the extended forecast every time for the past 14 years, according to the Staten Island Advance.
The last time Chuck was wrong was back in 2009 — the same year he bit former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Fox News meteorologist Greg Diamond said that Chuck and Phil’s predictions will certainly seem on point in the next few weeks — though the sunny outlook might not last.
“It looks like the next two weeks, winter is very much on pause,” he told The Post on Friday.
But, he said, the final weeks of February heading into March may once again bring cooler temperatures to the region.
This year’s celebration, though, also had a solemn note — it marked the 10-year anniversary of the death of beloved groundhog, Charlotte.
Former Mayor Bill DeBlasio dropped the groundhog back in 2014, as the anxious rodent tried to squirm free.
Charlotte died of internal injuries one week later.
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