Staten Island's Groundhog Chuck To Predict If Spring Comes Early

STATEN ISLAND, NY — While the professional forecasters brace for a February freeze, the city's waiting for word from a prognosticator famous for his accuracy.

Staten Island Chuck is set to wake from his slumber on Groundhog Day in Staten Island Zoo and let New Yorkers know if there's an end in sight for winter.

The furry weatherman will make his prediction at the West Brighton zoo, at 614 Broadway, on Feb. 2 at 7:30 a.m., a spokesman for the attraction said.

The event is free with gates opening at 6:30 a.m. with the ceremony expected to start at 7 a.m., the spokesman said.

Groundhogs emerge from their burrows every year on Feb. 2 to predict the weather. If the rodent sees his shadow when he comes out, we're in store for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't, an early spring is on its way, according to lore.

While Chuck's Pennsylvania rival Punxsutawney Phil might be the more famous forecaster, the local hero has a higher accuracy rating. Chuck's predictions were accurate 68.4 percent of the time from 1992 to 2016, while Phil was right only 42.1 percent, DNAinfo reported.

Aside from battling against Phil, Chuck has had a strained relationship with the city's mayors who pull him out of his burrow. In 2009, Chuck took a bite out of then Mayor Michael Bloomberg's finger s Hizzoner tried to coax the groundhog out of his home.

Bloomberg took to using a plunger instead of his hands in 2011 and was caught on video calling him a "son of a b--ch." He vowed to bite back at their final meeting in 2012.

Relationships didn't improve when Bill de Blasio took office. In 2014, de Blasio dropped Chuck — later revealed to be a stand-in named Charlotte — as he took her out of her home for the prediction. Charlotte was found dead a week later in her cage after suffering internal injuries, the New York Post reported.

A spokesman for the zoo told the Post that Charlotte showed no signs of trauma or pain during a medical exam after Groundhog Day.

When de Blasio returned next year, the zoo took extra precautions and had Chuck lifted from his burrow by an elevator and kept in a Plexiglass box away from de Blasio's slippery fingers.

De Blasio hasn't returned since 2015 and the zoo doesn't know yet if he'll come this year.

Nicholas Rizzi/Patch