"Test Your Groundhog Day Knowledge..."

February 2nd...the day pompous, media-stirred 2-leggeds grasp an innocent, overfed fossorial critter and hoist it into the stark cold morning air for a pathetic photo op.

I bet you want to know how I really feel, eh?...

There are many imposter wanna-be's, to be sure. Punxsutawney Phil is certainly the most well-known of the underground dwellers, possibly because of the opportunity to actually pronounce "Punk-suh-tahw-nee" on live TV. Lest we not forget Bill Murray's epic cinematic endeavor in "Groundhog Day", which in its premise is uncomfortably close to the truth some days...

So what better opportunity than to test your knowledge of this furry 4-legged and his magical prognosticatory endeavors (making new words up is a self-imposed joy). Ready? Grab your #2 pencil and begin....

1. When was the last year Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow?

2. "Groundhog Day" grew from what famous historic Christian feast commemorating the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple?

3. In what year is the earliest known American reference recorded mentioning Groundhog Day?

4. What year did Punxsutawney Phil's forecasting begin? Did he see his shadow or not that year?

5. What is the difference between a groundhog and a woodchuck?

6. Virtually all groundhogs are more hairy on one side than the other. Which side is more hairy?

????????????????????

Answers:

1. 1999

2. Candlemas Day.

3. 1841, Reading, Pennsylvania

4. 1887. Yes, he saw his shadow.

5. Groundhogs prefer decaf lattes; other than that, they're one in the same.

6. The outside.

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All I can say is TGIF from yesterday's fickle weather. Appreciable snow amounts only reached into the southern Triad market, thanks to exceedingly dry air early on...warmer pre-dawn temps by 3-5 degrees than forecast (thinner cold layer resulted)...then an early switch to rain. Alas, some did eek out 2-3", but virtually none for the NW sector that was left holding an empty poke per snowy precipitation ...heavier amounts plopped toward Charlotte and points just south of there, back into NE Georgia where the bulwark of the precipitation held. Tough calls were made, and all pieces did not verify...we prepared for the worst, as well we should have, and got a traveler-friendly result for today.

You might (or might not) be amazed at the rudeness a few choose to display in the thick of it all...how someone can be so cheap, ugly, and so mean-spirited tells me everything about how they see themselves. I speak of a letter received in the Charlotte office yesterday afternoon from a disgruntled viewer who had nothing better to do than spew vitriol...I think the vast majority of you understand that winter events are typically unruly, and that you assume (correctly) we work ourselves to the bone in forecasting and presenting information to viewers 6 times an hour, non-stop when it's hairy. The chips fall where they do and life rolls on like the mighty Mississippi, fight it or not.

Welcome to Friday, friends. Enjoy your weekend...I know I will!