Groundhogs and Winter in Tennessee

Last week I put out a call for unusual family traditions. It can be for the major holidays or for others such as Valentines Day, Groundhog Day, etc. We want to feature these in a future edition of the Farmers’ Almanac. Those selected will receive a $50 gift card to the Farmers’ Almanac store. If you have a tradition or can relay one that was part of your family years ago, I’d love to hear from you with the details.

The closer we get to December, the more questions and comments about what is happening with Mother Nature. Here are a couple from over the weekend.

I live in Tennessee and I have noticed a lot of ground hogs in the past month. This is unusual to see. Do you have any information on if this is a sign of a bad winter or a mild winter? Thank you in advance for any information you may have on this.

Ken

There is nothing in our files that indicates ground hog activity and winter weather. We do respect the critter when he comes out for air on February 2nd , but nothing pre-winter. My guess is that they are on schedule and that you will have a cold winter while they are sleeping it off. Get ready.

It is very interesting what I heard on the news last week for our winter weather here in TN. It stated that the latest computer models were showing a snowy winter here in TN. Can this be true?

We think it will be a cold winter for sure and that you’ll get snow. I don’t believe it will be a record setter. But, our predictions for the winter are in the 2007 edition. There had been talk of an El Niño and a milder winter (by the National Weather Service) but we are sticking to our call for cold and snow.

I have heard from many in Tenn. It is one state that can have mild or severe winters. They tend to sit on the cusp. If you look at the weather map this morning, there is a little of everything going on right now. Soggy in the Northwest and Northeast corners of the Us and some real frigid stuff in between. It is beginning to get interesting!

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