Georgia's famous groundhog General Beauregard "Beau" Lee has made his weather forecast for 2023.
Officials at the Dowsit Trails Nature Center announced Thursday morning that the groundhog hasn't seen its shadow — which means we'll be seeing the beginning of spring.
Lee's prediction contrasts with fellow groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, who announces that there will be six more weeks of winter.
Beau's ancestors began predicting the seasons on Groundhog Day in 1981. He moved to the Nature Center from the Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary in Gwinnett County.
Unlike an elephant, Georgia groundhogs have only expected a longer winter three times in the past 32 years. The last time a long winter was predicted was in 2019.
And according to PolitiFact in 2011, Lee has a better track record than Phil.
"Underdog Georgia is the champ," Politfact wrote.
— Official General Beauregard Lee (@genbeaulee) February 2, 2022
where did groundhog day originate ?
The Groundhog Day celebration began with the early settlers of Pennsylvania, according to the Groundhog Club. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas, which states, "As the sun rises in Candlemas, so now will it snow in May...", the club notes on their website.
Candlemas included clergy blessing and distributing candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be, History.com notes. Germans expanded on this by selecting an animal the hedgehog as a means of predicting the weather.
Once in America, the German settlers of Pennsylvania continued this tradition, though they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were abundant in the Keystone State.
Punxsutawney held its first groundhog day in the 19th century. The first official trip to Gobbler's Knob—a small hill outside town—wasn't made until February 2, 1887. That year, Phil saw his shadow.
His first prediction of another six weeks of winter was accurate for a few regions, but came up short for several others.