National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Heavy to Excessive Rains in The Four Corners Region and Midwest; Heat Persists in the South-Central U.S.

Repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms could bring a flash flooding threat across the Four Corners region and from the mid-Mississippi Valley into the lower Great Lakes. Hot temperatures and high humidity will continue to challenge daily records from the Southern Plains to the lower Mississippi Valley. Read More >

Climate statistics for Peoria and Springfield are available for Groundhog Day.

Groundhog Day has its origins in early European culture. It was said that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on February 2, winter would last another 6 weeks. No shadow would indicate that spring was around the corner. German tradition used hedgehogs as the animal in question, which shifted to groundhogs when German immigrants moved to Pennsylvania. The groundhog ceremony near Punxsutawney became the most well-known, using a groundhog named Phil.

Since reliable sky cover statistics became available (1957 in Peoria, and 1950 in Springfield), Groundhog Day sunrise in our area has been cloudy or mostly cloudy a little over 60% of the time.

 

Groundhog Day climate statistics