Groundhog Day also falls halfway between the winter solstice, or the longest night of the year, and the spring equinox, which is when day and night are the same length. Shubenacadie Sam, the Prognosticating Groundhog, may be Nova Scotia’s most famous groundhog. Since 1987, four groundhogs have been honoured with the name of Shubenacadie Sam. Nova Scotia also has a unique native animal predicting the weather – a lobster. Lucy the Lobster is the mascot of the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl Festival, which takes place in February. 2025: Groundhog Day in Nova Scotia. Shubenacadie Sam – Prediction – TBA. Sunday, February 2, 2025, 8 a.m. Every February 2, Sam takes part in a long-standing North American tradition: Groundhog Day. According to superstition, if a groundhog comes out its burrow and sees its shadow on February 2, there will be 6 more weeks of winter. If the groundhog doesn’t see its shadow, spring will arrive early. “Our annual Groundhog Day celebration is a fun tradition for many Nova Scotia families,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables. “I’m always hopeful Sam will predict an early spring, but either way, this is a much-anticipated event every year.” Folklore says winter will last for six more weeks if the groundhog Shubenacadie Sam climbs out of her burrow and predicts an early spring during a Groundhog Day event at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in Nova Scotia on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ted Nova Scotians are invited to celebrate Groundhog Day with Shubenacadie Sam – in person and virtually – for the groundhog’s annual forecast from Shubenacadie Wildlife Park on Thursday, February 2. Shubenacadie Wildlife Park’s well-known groundhog will emerge from a burrow at 8 a.m. Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam made her annual Groundhog Day prediction Friday morning and said Maritimers can expect an early spring. “Because of our geography, Nova Scotians will be the first to know if Shubenacadie Sam predicts an early spring or six more weeks of winter.” Folklore says winter will last for six more weeks if the groundhog sees its shadow, while no shadow is a sign of an early spring. The wildlife park will also celebrate World Wetlands Day on February 2. Only in Nova Scotia can you get a groundhog squaring off against a lobster about weather predictions! The Weather Networks Nathan Coleman introduces Nova Scotias Groundhog Day stars! The park is open from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Groundhog Day. Quick Facts: – the groundhog’s scientific name is Marmota monax, one of 14 types of marmot that can be found in the Northern Hemisphere – except for Groundhog Day, Shubenacadie Wildlife Park is open only on weekends during winter, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lucy the Lobster makes Groundhog Day predictions on February 2nd to kick off the Lobster Crawl festival in Barrington, Nova Scotia. The Municipality of Barrington says Lucy is the only prognosticating crustacean to make a prediction in Canada. Bill Murray was reported as being bemused by the idea of a lobster forecaster. Two Rivers Tunnel is a prognosticating Groundhog from Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada. In 2024, Tunnel predicted a longer winter. Shubenacadie Sam is a weather-predicting groundhog who resides at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in Nova Scotia. Living on the eastern edge of Canada, Sam makes the first prediction in North America every year at 8:00 am AST. Shubenacadie Sam is a Canadian groundhog who lives at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in the town of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Sam's shadow is closely observed at 08:00 AST to make the traditional prediction whether there will be an early spring. YARMOUTH, N.S. Its nearly impossible for any Feb. 2 Groundhog Day to roll around in southwestern Nova Scotia without people thinking back to the Groundhog Day storm of 1976. On a day when the weather forecast was for warm temperatures and 30 mph winds, the region got walloped by strong winds, storm surges and power outages that went on for days. Groundhog Day (Pennsylvania German: Grund'sau dåk, Grundsaudaag, Grundsow Dawg, Murmeltiertag; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) [1] [2] [3] is a tradition observed regionally in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year. The Groundhog Day gale was a severe winter storm that hit the Northeastern United States Southwest Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick experienced coastal Watch: On this Groundhog Day, a Nova Scotian lobster is making her own predictions for winter. Shelley Steeves was on Cape Sable Island to see what Lucy had to say – Feb 2, 2023 Groundhog Day (Pennsylvania German: Grund'sau dåk, Grundsaudaag, Grundsow Dawg, Murmeltiertag; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) [1] [2] [3] is a tradition observed regionally in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year.
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