Column Chronicles: Groundhog Phil was not the first rodent weather predictor

Groundhog Phil was not the first rodent weather predictor

Frank Cotolo
February 24, 2022

In Pennsylvania, the groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil is known in context as the predictor of when winter ends and spring begins. However, metrological history claims Phil was popularized in the Keystone State but was not the first rodent to attempt celebrity for predicting the weather. North American legends of various rodents preceding the Punxsutawney phenomenon have spread for centuries. Here are a few that have come and gone.

In Alabama, circa 1832, Scratch Ankle Andy was a porcupine predicting the first snowfall in Monroe County. Residents gathered each January, waiting for Andy to appear at dawn. If Andy emerged and shot quills at the mayor, a hefty snowfall was a few weeks away.

In Ohio, circa 1901, Rendville Rat showed up at dawn in July to predict if the tiny Ohio town would continue summer through October. If Rendville Rat came out of his hole and burst into flames, it was bad news for the small population.

In Bassano, Alberta, Canada around 1917, a beaver was thought to predict an earthquake if he surfaced from his dirt mound with a crewcut.

In Puglia, Italy since September 1802, Puglia Pete the prairie dog appears at sunrise to warn the country if a volcanic eruption is imminent. Townsfolk know to prepare for it if the prairie dog is seen strumming a mandolin.

Girbils puttering across the outskirts of Ronda, Andalusia, Spain, on a December morning in April since 1815 are believed to be forecasting a tumultuous sandstorm, suggesting that not only is winter over early, but the town will soon look more like a village in the Eastern Desert of India; especially if the gerbils include one of each of the 110 species of Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds.

Those are just a few of the celebrated rodents that have never attained the celebrity of Punxsutawney Phil, the best known seasonal weather rodent who is responsible for Groundhog Day.

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.