ST. LOUIS — A furry critter in a western Pennsylvania town predicted six more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow during an annual Groundhog Day celebration. The St. Louis Arch is getting into the annual weather prediction game too. After seeing its shadow this morning, the national monument shared a poem to Facebook.
“Here I stand above St. Louis,
As a predictor of weather I am the truest.
Phil’s prophecy may be most known,
But as I rise, my shadow has shown.
Winter shall stay well into March,
I do declare, as the Gateway Arch.
GroundhogDay”
According to folklore, if he sees the groundhog sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, spring comes early.
The annual event in Punxsutawney originated from a German legend about a furry rodent. Meanwhile, New York City’s Staten Island Chuck made his prediction for an early spring during an event Thursday at the Staten Island Zoo.
This isn’t the St. Louis Arch’s first foray into weather. There is a long-running joke that weather seems to go around St. Louis or stop at the Mississippi River. Radar images often show the city clear of clouds, with the rest of the region under storm threat. Some people think that the monument has something to do with it. An April Fool’s Day post from 2016 explains everything.