On February 2, Groundhog Day, the traditional weather forecast was announced in Kharkiv region. The new weather-forecasting groundhog, Timko IV, predicted that winter will last for another six weeks.
This was reported by Media Group Ob’yektiv.
This year, the forecast was made not by Timko III, but by his successor, Timko IV, as the previous groundhog had gone into well-deserved retirement. According to experts, the groundhog saw its shadow, which traditionally means a late arrival of spring.
For the second year in a row, the event was held remotely. The groundhogs are permanently housed at the Kharkiv National University’s biological station in the Velykoburlutsk community. Due to the security situation and severe frosts, scientists decided not to transport the animals to the Zmiiv community for the traditional event.
“This year, the groundhog saw its shadow, which means that spring will come in six weeks. At least, that’s what it thinks,” said the head of the Eastern Steppes Laboratory at the Biology Department of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, relaying the groundhog’s prediction.
Marmot keeper Galina Savchenko noted that due to the warm winter and ground vibrations from explosions in the Velykoburlutsk community, the marmots did not have offspring again last season — for the third year in a row. According to her, the warm weather and sounds of war negatively affected the hibernation of the animals, which slept lightly and woke up often.
This winter, the weather conditions were different, so the marmots slept better, but according to experts, there is still no complete silence.
The tradition of celebrating Groundhog Day in the Kharkiv region has been going on for 22 years. During this time, three groundhogs have made spring forecasts: Timko, Timko II, and Timko III, who has been performing this role since 2018. According to tradition, if the groundhog does not see its shadow, spring will come early, and if it does see its shadow, winter will last at least until mid-March.