Groundhog Day 2021: At what times do the groundhogs of Punxsutawney Phil, Staten Island Chuck and New Jersey seek their shadows?
It’s time for Punxsutawney Phil and other predicted Groundhog to emerge from their burrows for Groundhog Day 2021 and check for their shadows.
Rodent responses will tell us how long winter will last, and this year, the peculiar tradition coincides with a massive blizzard that is expected to drop up to 24 inches of snow in parts of New Jersey.
But is an early spring on the horizon? Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil and his impersonators, including Staten Island Chuck, Essex Ed and Milltown Mel, will make their calls Tuesday.
Folklore claims that if the groundhogs see their shadows on Groundhog Day, there will be another six weeks of winter. If you don’t see your shadows, spring will come early.
Here is the summary of several known Groundhog in our region and the time at which they will look for their shadows. All Groundhog Day events are virtual this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When will Punxsutawney Phil look for this shadow?
The annual Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, begins at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, but no in-person assistance.
Typically, Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney is a festival filled with bonfires, dancing and fireworks. But the event is virtual this year due to the pandemic and will be streamed live online.
When will Staten Island Chuck seek his shadow?
The annual Groundhog Day ceremony at the Staten Island Zoo is scheduled for Tuesday. The zoo will broadcast its Groundhog Day event on Facebook Live starting at 7:45 a.m. and Chuck will come out of his burrow at 8 a.m.
Visitors to the event will not be allowed due to the pandemic.
“We are confident that Chuck’s legion of fans will understand that this is the right thing to do,” Ken Mitchell, executive director of the Staten Island Zoo, said in a statement last month. “We want people to watch Chuck from the safety of his homes and offices. Let’s hope Chuck predicts a ‘beginning of spring’. We sure can use it! ”
New Jersey’s Groundhogs
Essex Ed, the beloved furry handicapper from the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, will make his appearance at 11 a.m. Tuesday. The event will be remote, with Ed’s prediction posted on the zoo’s Facebook page.
Milltown Mel will seek his shadow before 8 a.m. Tuesday from her home near the Bronson and Gutlein Funeral Home in Milltown and his prediction will be posted on Facebook. “We can’t have our regular audience even go on stage, but people are waiting for their observation,” Wrangler of Milltown Mel, the group that runs the annual event, told NJ Advance Media.
Stonewall Jackson V will seek his shadow at the Space Farms Zoo and Museum in Wantage sometime between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., zoo representatives said. His prediction will be posted on the zoo’s Facebook page. (Last year, Stonewall Jackson V was in the majority and did not anticipate an early spring.)
Coatimundis at Cohanzick Zoo in Bridgeton often make their own predictions on February 1, the day before Groundhog Day. The zoo started the event in the 1990s. However, zoo officials said the coatis are now “retired from their weather duties” and did not participate in the forecast prior to Groundhog Day this year.