The Groundhog Report and Skiing.

Does the Goundhog not seeing his shadow today mean that we will ski no more. I think not. Here is a press release on the Canadian Famous Rodent.

WIARTON, Ont. - Severe weather across the country that plunged the Prairies in the deep freeze, Prince Edward Island in the dark and Ontario and Quebec under a massive dump of snow will soon come to an end, according to Canada's furry weather forecasters.
Wiarton Willie, Canada's most famous weather prognosticating rodent, heralded an early spring when he failed to see his shadow after being roused from his slumber early Saturday in this small southern Ontario community.
Folklore has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, he'll flee to his burrow, heralding six more weeks of winter - if he doesn't, it means early spring.
"Dignitaries, me lads and ladies," the town crier Bruce Kruger proclaimed while ringing his bell, "get your shorts and T-shirts too, Wiarton Willie's annual task is through. Now the town crier proudly rings, Willie predicts it's an early spring."
Mac McKenzie, who founded the Wiarton Willie event 52 years ago, said that's music to his ears.
"Sounds good to me," he said. "You think I like this kind of weather? Not really. I'd rather be in Jamaica."
But don't put away parkas and tuques just yet, said Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson. Early springs are actually pretty rare.
"Whether Wiarton Willie sees the shadow or not, I think the way things normally shape up in an average winter in the province, we're probably still looking at winter-like weather right through into that mid-March and late March period," he said.
"I would hope people aren't using bets on stock commodities or futures or whatever based on a groundhog coming out and seeing his shadow or not."
The origins of the tradition aren't clear, but it's likely related to the fact that Groundhog Day falls midway between the start of winter and the beginning of spring.
Though the event is more about fun and promoting the community of Wiarton than hard meteorological data, McKenzie said Willie is never wrong - well, almost.
"Bang on. (He) never misses," he said. "Well, we had one about 40 years ago, I think, where, well, he'd been into the sauce."

Canada's other famous groundhog, Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam, and stuffed mascot Balzac Billy in Alberta, also predicted an early spring. Two of their southern brethren - Woody from Howell, Michigan, and Gen. Beauregard Lee in Georgia - concurred.
Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil was the lone voice of dissent, spotting his shadow on Saturday after being awakened by his handlers.
Balzac Billy, who represents the plentiful gopher population in the area north of Calgary, has been prognosticating for two decades and has been more than 80 per cent accurate, said organizer Bob Stuart.
But he concedes that real gophers are rarely seen in Balzac when the weather is frigid in February, so the stuffed mascot represents the gophers who are still hibernating........

So more skiing for us I think,,,,,if you want the entire post go to this link:
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jrY77mRE_Bxw8C3nEQcuZW1cLG7g