Stormy Marmot is a

yellow-bellied marmot The yellow-bellied marmot (''Marmota flaviventris''), also known as the rock chuck, is a large, stout-bodied ground squirrel in the marmot genus. It is one of fourteen species of marmots, and is native to mountainous regions of southwestern Canad ...

of the

Rocky Mountain region The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, living in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, ...

. Every February 2, on

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...

, Stormy makes a prediction for the remainder of winter.

History

Stormy is a

, a member of the

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

family. He is one of the few famous groundhogs west of the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. Stormy is trotted out once a year to check for his

shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

and make a

weather prediction Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the t ...

."Your rodent rear is mine, Phil!"
Aurora Magazine, Feb 6, 2013 Concrete Driveway in Colorado claims to rely on Stormy's forecasts to prepare their fleet.

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 ...

loyalists have been known to disparage Stormy. Flatiron Freddy also represents

prognostication in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. He makes his home at Chautauqua Park in

Boulder, CO Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Colora ...

Past predictions

Accuracy

Statistical analysis of groundhog predictions show that Stormy Marmot and Poor Richard (a groundhog based in

York, Pennsylvania York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

) have the best correlation to observed weather trends. "When Stormy Marmot predicts an early spring, we can expect March to be on average 6 °F warmer, and April to be 2.5 °F warmer. When Poor Richard predicts an early spring, we can expect February to be 4 °F warmer and March to be 8 °F warmer." Dover Doug, a groundhog from

Dover, Pennsylvania Dover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,953 at the 2020 census. History James Joner purchased in 1764 and laid out the town of Dover. It was known generally as Joners Town until 1815, when a Dover po ...

, was also noted for having a strong correlation between the sign of his shadow and the arrival of spring conditions. According to analysis by FiveThirtyEight, Stormy has a 70% prediction accuracy in his own region, tied by

General Beauregard Lee General Beauregard Lee is a groundhog in the US state of Georgia widely considered to be the Groundhog Day weather prognosticator for the Southern United States. General Beauregard Lee's predecessor was known as General Robert E. Lee, named afte ...

for the southeast and beaten only by Snohomish Slew, a bullfrog in the northwest, who has an 80% accuracy.

only scored 50% for his region, the northeast.

Background

has been making predictions since the 1880s. However, this method of prognostication did not gain mass notoriety until the release of the 1993 comedy

Groundhog Day (film) ''Groundhog Day'' is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, with a screenplay by him and Danny Rubin. It stars Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott. Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherm ...

with

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

and

Andie MacDowell Rosalie Anderson MacDowell (born April 21, 1958) is an American actress and former fashion model. MacDowell's known for her starring film roles in romantic comedies and dramas. MacDowell has modeled for Calvin Klein and has been a spokeswoman ...

. The movie became the 13th highest grossing of the year, with over $70 million at the box office. Over time, the movie became a cult classic and significantly increased awareness and attendance at

events.

References

External links