General Beauregard Lee is a

groundhog The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...

in the US state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

widely considered to be the Groundhog Day weather prognosticator for the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. General Beauregard Lee's predecessor was known as General Robert E. Lee, named after the American

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

General Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of North ...

of the same name, and began prognosticating in 1981. General Beauregard Lee's first nationally televised appearance was in 1988. General Beauregard Lee resided at Yellow River Game Ranch in

Gwinnett County, Georgia Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulto ...

for 27 years until the ranch suddenly closed in December 2017. He was then relocated to Dauset Trails Nature Center in

Jackson, Georgia Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Butts County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,045 in 2010, up from 3,934 at the 2000 census. The community was named after governor James Jackson. History Founded in 1826, Jackson began ...

, to carry on his weather-predicting tradition. In 2011, PolitiFact decreed General Lee to be more accurate than

Punxsutawney Phil Punxsutawney Phil is the name given to a groundhog residing in Young Township near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who is the central figure in Punxsutawney's annual Groundhog Day celebration. Folklore On February 2 each year, Punxsutawney holds ...

, boasting a 60% national accuracy for an early spring between the years of 2001 to 2010, compared to Phil's 30%. The groundhog-sized ante-bellum style mansion that General Lee lives in is known as Weathering Heights.

Past predictions

List of individual General Lee namesakes

*General Robert E. Lee (1981-1991): This General Lee was considered to have had predicted the weather correctly nine out of ten times from 1981 to 1990. General Robert E. Lee retired in 1991 after he became too old and too fat. In February 1991, a commemorative marker was put on display at Yellow River Game Ranch in celebration of his retirement. *General Beauregard Lee (1991-): He was born in 1990 and was a distant relation of the previous General Lee. His namesake is an homage to Generals P. G. T. Beauregard and Robert E. Lee. In 1991, he and General Robert E. Lee shared the role of groundhog prognosticator at Yellow River Game Ranch, and the next year Beauregard Lee had his first solo role. He was considered to have gotten the prediction for 1993 wrong due the blizzard that hit the South that year.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Official BioBook entitled "Groundhog Day" by Don Yoder
Individual groundhogs Holiday characters Oracular animals Individual animals in the United States Groundhog Day

Past predictions

List of individual General Lee namesakes

See also

References

External links