United States Mid-Atlantic The Slumbering Groundhog Lodge, which was formed in 1907, has carried out the ceremonies that take place in
Quarryville, Pennsylvania. It used to be a contending rival to Punxsutawney over the Groundhog Day fame. It employs a
taxidermic specimen (stuffed woodchuck). In
Southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (
Grundsow Lodges) celebrate the holiday with
fersommlinge, social events in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more ''g'spiel'' (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment. The
Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty, usually in the form of a
nickel,
dime, or
quarter per word spoken, with the money put into a bowl in the center of the table. In select locations, such as
Myerstown (where Uni is the resident groundhog), if February 2 lands on a Sunday, the ceremonies are moved to February 1. Most of these celebrations outside of Punxsutawney have switched to taxidermied specimens, stuffed toys or costumed characters instead of a live groundhog as of 2026.
Chuckles, a self-proclaimed woodchuck, has been providing the regional weather prognostication in
Manchester, Connecticut since 1968 at the Lutz Children's Museum. According to tradition, Chuckles whispers his prediction into the ear of the town mayor, the only Connecticut public official who speaks "groundhog-ese", who then announces it to a crowd of citizens and state officials including the
governor. The celebration is traditionally broadcast live by local television station
WFSB and participating radio affiliates. An analysis of historical weather data and Chuckles' previous predictions reveals he offers a 60% accuracy rate, higher than most other weather-predicting animals nationwide. Notably, in 2024, Chuckles predicted an early spring (alongside Punxsutawney Phil and others) but Winter Storm Birch followed soon after, prompting the local police department of
Guilford, Connecticut to issue a warrant and dubbing the rodent "Chuck the Liar". In a show of good will, Chuckles "turned himself in", but his record of previous accuracy and community service allowed him to be released. In
Milltown, New Jersey,
Milltown Mel was purchased in 2008 in
Sunbury, Pennsylvania, by Jerry and Cathy Guthlein, and lived in a cage in the Guthleins' back yard. Mel's first event was at the family business, the Bronson and Guthlein Funeral Home, with later events moved to the American Legion Post, with free coffee and doughnuts served afterwards. Mel died in 2021.) The state of New Jersey has prohibited the procurement of a replacement groundhog and seized a groundhog the town had procured from Tennessee because of rabies control laws. New Jersey Governor
Phil Murphy vetoed a bill that would have allowed for the event to resume.
Stonewall Jackson predicts at
Space Farms Zoo and Museum.
Essex Ed the groundhog and
Otis the Hedgehog predict at
Turtle Back Zoo.
Great Neck Greta, of
Great Neck, Long Island, New York, predicted in 2020.
Quigley, of
The Hamptons (resident of the
Save the Animals Rescue Foundation), predicts at
Quogue Village Fire Department.
Staten Island Chuck is the stage name for the official weather-forecasting woodchuck for New York City, housed in the
Staten Island Zoo. In 2009, Chuck bit then-NYC-Mayor Mike Bloomberg, prompting zoo officials to quietly replace him with his daughter Charlotte. In 2014, NYC Mayor
Bill de Blasio, famously dropped Charlotte during the ceremony, visibly disturbing many of the children present for the event. Charlotte's untimely death a week later prompted rumors she was killed by the fall, although the zoo later said this was unlikely to be the cause of Charlotte's demise.
Dunkirk Dave (a stage name for numerous groundhogs that have filled the role since 1960) is the local groundhog for
Western New York, handled by Bob Will, a typewriter repairman who runs a rescue shelter for groundhogs. Will is adamant that Dunkirk Dave does not actually predict the date of spring because that is fixed by calendars, but instead predicts the harshness of the remainder of winter. An additional groundhog was added in Buffalo in 2014 but this groundhog—Buffalo Bert— is in jest in that he always sees his shadow, as an inside joke to Buffalo's winters; the Irish pub that hosts the event jokes that Bert's constant predictions of winter give him a 100% accuracy rate.
French Creek Freddie is
West Virginia's resident groundhog meteorologist. A resident of the
West Virginia State Wildlife Center in
French Creek, West Virginia, Freddie made his debut in 1978, and boasts an accuracy rate of approximately 50%. On Groundhog Day, 2022, Freddie predicted six more weeks of winter, with the mayor of
Buckhannon and members of the community in attendance. In Maryland,
Queen City Charlie handles ceremonies in the western part of the state, having succeeded Western Maryland Murray after Murray's June 2021 death.
Holtsville Hal resides at the
Holtsville Ecology Site and Animal Preserve in Holtsville, NY. He predicts the weather for
Suffolk County, NY, in front of hundreds of residents each Groundhog Day.
Chesapeake Chuck resides the
Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, VA. He predicts the weather for the
Hampton Roads. Other animal predictions on upcoming current events also take place throughout the celebration.
Midwest In the
Midwest,
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, is the self-proclaimed "Groundhog Capital of the World". This title taken in response to the
Punxsutawney Spirit's 1952 newspaper article describing Sun Prairie as a "remote two cow village buried somewhere in the wilderness..." In 2015,
Jimmy the Groundhog bit the ear of Mayor Jon Freund and the story quickly went viral worldwide. The next day a mayoral proclamation absolved Jimmy XI of any wrongdoing.
Buckeye Chuck,
Ohio's official State Groundhog, is one of two weather-predicting groundhogs. He resides in
Marion, Ohio.
Woodstock Willie, in
Woodstock, Illinois, the shooting location for the 1993 film
Groundhog Day.
Concord Casimir, while not a groundhog, is a weather-predicting cat whose forecast is based on how he eats his annual
pierogi meal. He resides in
Concord, Ohio, on the outskirts of Cleveland.
The South In Washington, D.C., the
Dupont Circle Groundhog Day event features
Potomac Phil, another
taxidermic specimen. From his first appearance in 2012 to 2018, Phil's spring predictions invariably agreed with those of the more lively Punxsutawney Phil, who made his predictions half an hour earlier. In addition, Phil always predicted correctly six more months of political gridlock. However, after being accused of collusion in 2018, Potomac Phil contradicted Punxsutawney Phil in 2019, and further, predicted two more years of political insanity.
Birmingham Bill, at
Birmingham Zoo, was "taking a break" from predicting in 2015. Since then, a surrogate, "Birmingham Jill," has filled in for Bill to allow Bill to continue his natural hibernation cycle. As of 2026, the role of Birmingham Jill is played by an opossum. In
Raleigh, North Carolina, an annual event at the
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences included
Sir Walter Wally. According to museum officials, Wally had been correct 58% of the time vs. Punxsutawney Phil's 39%.
Sir Walter Wally retired after 2022 leaving
Snerd of
Garner as the only weather-predicting groundhog in the state. Elsewhere in the American South, the
General Beauregard Lee makes predictions from
Lilburn, Georgia (later
Butts County, Georgia). The
University of Dallas in
Irving, Texas has boasted of hosting the second largest Groundhog celebration in the world.
Western US Aurora, Colorado forecasts with a
yellow-bellied marmot named Stormy Marmot. Boulder, Colorado celebrates with Flatiron Freddy, who makes his appearance in a different manner each year. The Oregon Zoo in Portland, Has a weather predicting Beaver, called "Stumptown Fil." Fil predicts through two treats placed on logs, each treat has a piece of paper in front of it with the prediction, the prediction in front of the treat he eats first is declared his prediction.
Canada makes the winter prediction at Nova Scotia's
Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, 2024 The day is observed with various ceremonies at other locations in North America beyond the United States. In
Nova Scotia, Groundhog Day traditions arrived with German
Foreign Protestant immigrants in the 1750s where it was known as "Daks Day" (from the German
dachs) in the German dialect of
Lunenburg County settlers.) Due to
Nova Scotia's
Atlantic Time Zone, the province's official groundhog,
Shubenacadie Sam makes the first Groundhog Day prediction in North America, a tradition at Nova Scotia's
Shubenacadie Wildlife Park since 1987. In
French Canada, where the day is known as ,
Fred la marmotte of
Val-d'Espoir A study also shows that in Quebec, the marmot and groundhog () are regarded as Candlemas weather-predicting beasts in some scattered spots, but the bear is the more usual animal.
Wiarton Willie forecasts annually from
Wiarton, Ontario. Manitoba Merv has been forecasting since the 1990s, at
Oak Hammock Marsh. Winnipeg Wyn was forecasting starting in the 2010s, at
Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Wyn died in 2020.
Balzac Billy is the "Prairie Prognosticator", a man-sized groundhog mascot who prognosticates weather on Groundhog Day from
Balzac, Alberta.
Nanaimo, a
ferry port city on
Vancouver Island in
British Columbia,
Canada present
Chopper,
Marlu, and
Van Isle Violet, all wild
Vancouver Island marmots, for forecasts, via the
Marmot Recovery Foundation. ==Accuracy==