'Substitute' Groundhog Predicts 6 More Weeks Of Winter For CT

MANCHESTER, CT — The shadow was a bit smaller than usual Tuesday, but Phoebe the hedgehog did see hers at the Lutz Children's Museum in Manchester and predicted six more weeks of winter for 2021.

Phoebe was standing in for Chuckles, Connecticut's official state groundhog. Chuckles X died in October.

Manchester Mayor Jay Moran, by the powers vested in him as the official translator of groundhog — and this time time hedgehog — bestowed the prognosticative powers on Phoebe for the day.

She told him the news shortly after sunrise.

"The good news is that we're going to have more snow days, the bad news is you’re going to learn virtually, kids," Moran said.

Groundhog Day festivities at the Lutz traditionally draw quite a crowd. Families gather for a pre-dawn breakfast and anxiously await the appearance of Chuckles. The cameras then start rolling as the prediction is made.

In 2021, because of the coronavirus pandemic, spectators had to sit it out as a health precaution, Lutz officials said.

All was going well with a Facebook livestream until the connection suddenly burped. State Rep. Jason Doucette then stepped in and provided a substitute video from his trusted phone.

"Things were definitely a little different this year," Doucette said.

Here is the video:

Officials said a hedgehog making the prediction is not that unusual. Legend has it that hedgehogs were originally used in Europe to make the forecast. After settlement in America, hedgehogs were scarce, so the groundhog was used instead, officials said.

Doucette, who is a skier, said extended cold weather could be a boost to the state's snow sports areas, which have been bustling more than usual with more folks staying close amid the pandemic.

"This has been an historic winter and this prognostication calls for six more weeks of good Connecticut skiing," he said.

Phoebe, the Lutz's resident hedgehog and a legend with the younger crowd, was unavailable for a postgame interview with Patch because the museum was closed to the public because of the snow that fell Monday into Tuesday.

The Lutz is located at 247 South Main St. in Manchester.

Moran gave Phoebe props and reminded folks that she has assisted Chuckles the past few years because he was blind.

"The hedgehog was predicting weather long before the groundhog," he said. "She says we will see a storm in February and a possible big storm in March. We look forward to getting and meeting Chuckles XI hopefully in the near future. Phoebe did an awesome job filling in this year. "

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