Groundhog Day has wrap around again to see what a grouping of gnawer have to say about spring . However , in Canada , tragedy strike as star of the season Fred la Marmotte was establish dead just a few hours before the vainglorious foretelling .

The approximation goes that when a woodchuck emerge from their tunnel at the end of hibernation , their shadow decides what the time of year will take . If a Marmota monax ascertain its shadow it ’ll scurry back in and local residents can expect a further stretch of winter . Should the groundhog see no tincture , they ’ll scamper up top side , heralding the arrival of spring .

The Groundhog Festivities in Quebec took a turn when it was announced that Fred la Marmotte had died at the grand eld of nine twelvemonth , reportsCBC News . An impressive age for a species that more typically only makes it to four to six years one-time .

Over - wintertime deathrate such as that which claim the life history of Fred is a common fate for groundhogs , who past a certain age are more likely to go into hibernation for a tenacious sopor that they never wake up from . A similar story played out last year in New Jersey , where Groundhog Day fans memorize thatMilltown Melhad “ foil over the rainbow bridge ” briefly before the bragging daylight .

The estimate of Groundhog Day arrive from Pennsylvania Germans who settled in America in the eighteenth and 19th centuries . As for the hype smother these fauna ’ electrical capacity to predict future weather condition , The Washington Postactually looked at the statistics on this .

They compare the average daily temperatures during the six weeks following a Groundhog Day prediction , and the prediction itself and found that the rodents ' foretelling were roughly the same as random chance , with a few notable elision . In Oklahoma City , the year when the groundhog saw its tincture were 4.7 ° C ( 8.5 ° F ) ice chest than the eld when it did not . Meanwhile in Florida , when the groundhog saw its tincture , the solar day were on average 7.7 ° ascorbic acid ( 13.9 ° F ) warmer following the prediction .

Fred la Marmotte ’s prognosticate days may be over , but Quebec was quick with a small minor and a squeeze groundhog to declare the region can expect a prolonged wintertime . Bad news all round , then .

[ H / T : Guardian ]