MI's Woody The Woodchuck Predicts An Early Spring

HOWELL, MI — While Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter Sunday morning, Michigan's Woody the Woodchuck says an early spring is on the way.

Woody, who is Michigan's official groundhog and has been forecasting the weather since 1999, made her prediction Sunday morning at the Howell Nature Center.

When the door to her house was opened, she walked out and looked at the crowd for more than 30 seconds, meaning she is forecasting an early spring in Michigan.

Woody actually stayed outside her house so long that she had to be put back in it.

Although Punxsutawney Phil has a longer track record in predicting the weather, Woody has historically been more accurate, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

Punxsutawney Phil has accurately predicted the weather just 30 percent of the time over the past ten years, while Woody has been right 65 percent of the time, according to the center.