This Groundhog Day forecast may spoil Friday's predictions
Spoiler: Groundhog Day predictions usually rely on the current weather conditions in your area. See what Friday brings, and what that could mean for the fate of an early spring prognosis
Groundhog Day is one of the most anticipated days of the year for Canadians -- a tradition that leaves the fate of winter's end in the hands of our furry forecaster friends.
It's celebrated in Canada and the United States every year on February 2, as we watch the groundhogs emerge from their burrows to determine what the weather will be in the weeks to come. Early spring, or six more weeks of winter?
RELATED: Groundhog Day: the truth about these furry forecasters
Did you know, this highly anticipated prediction on Friday may actually just depend on the current weather conditions in your area.
In order to create a shadow, we need a light source -- in this case the sun. Clear, or mostly clear skies set the ideal conditions to create a shadow for the groundhog to see. If the groundhog sees its shadow, and retreats back to its den, it's a signal for six more weeks of winter.
That will likely be the case across most of the Prairies on Friday.
Manitoba Merv will likely have ample of sun waking up Friday morning, favourable conditions to send him back into his burrow with a dominate shadow. Alberta's Balzac Billy may see a shadow too, with pops of sun forecast on Friday morning.
The opposite is true for the early spring prediction. Overcast days block sunlight, with likely no shadow created. If you're looking for an early spring reading this year, you want your Friday morning to be cloudy.
This is likely the case for the East Coast groundhogs, from Ontario right through to Atlantic Canada.
Shubenacadie Sam is set to wake up to cloudy, if not snowy, weather in Nova Scotia Friday.
Ontario's Wiarton Willy will be on the edge, and the same in Quebec, as conditions currently appear cloudy, but with high pressure building. How overcast the morning will actually be however, is still in question at this time.
Be sure to check back on Friday, February 2 with live coverage all morning long, as we watch the groundhog's predictions unfold.
