The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the purposes of protection, safety, and general information. It is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) branch of the Department of Commerce, and is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, within the Washington metropolitan area. The agency was known as the United States Weather Bureau from 1891 until it adopted its current name in 1970.
Poor Richard's Almanack was a yearly almanac published by Benjamin Franklin, who adopted the pseudonym of "Poor Richard" or "Richard Saunders" for this purpose. The publication appeared continually from 1732 to 1758. It sold exceptionally well for a pamphlet published in the Thirteen Colonies; print runs reached 10,000 per year.
Wiarton Willie is the name given to a Canadian groundhog who lives in the community of Wiarton in Bruce County, Ontario. Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Willie takes part in the local Wiarton Willie Festival. His role is to predict whether there will be an early spring. Although the original Wiarton Willie died in 1999, the Wiarton Groundhog Day celebrations continue each year with a successor of the original Willie, and each successor is also referred to as Wiarton Willie.
Weather lore is the body of informal folklore related to the prediction of the weather and its greater meaning.
Punxsutawney Phil is a groundhog residing in Young Township near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, United States, who is the central figure in Punxsutawney's annual Groundhog Day celebration.
Staten Island Chuck, also referred to more formally as Charles G. Hogg, is a groundhog who resided in the Staten Island Zoo in Staten Island, New York City. He serves as the official groundhog meteorologist of New York City, who predicts the duration of winter each February 2 on Groundhog Day. The tradition dates back to 1981. He makes the prediction based on whether or not he sees his shadow during the ceremony between 7:00 A.M. and 7:30 A.M. on Groundhog Day. The ceremony at the zoo is sometimes attended and officiated by the Mayor of New York City. Chuck's prediction for 2024 was early spring, concurring with the prediction made by Punxsutawney Phil.
AccuWeather, Inc. is a private-sector American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services. AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree in meteorology. His first customer was a gas company in Pennsylvania. While running his company, Myers also worked as a member of Penn State's meteorology faculty. The company adopted the name 'AccuWeather' in 1971.
The Weather Prediction Center (WPC), located in College Park, Maryland, is one of nine service centers under the umbrella of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), a part of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. Government. Until March 5, 2013, the Weather Prediction Center was known as the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC). The Weather Prediction Center serves as a center for quantitative precipitation forecasting, medium range forecasting, and the interpretation of numerical weather prediction computer models.
The Old Farmer's Almanac is an almanac containing weather forecasts, planting charts, astronomical data, recipes, and articles. Topics include gardening, sports, astronomy, folklore, and predictions on trends in fashion, food, home, technology, and living for the coming year. Published every September, The Old Farmer's Almanac has been published continuously since 1792, making it the oldest continuously published periodical in North America. The publication follows in the heritage of American almanacs such as Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard's Almanack.
General Beauregard Lee is a groundhog in the US state of Georgia widely considered to be the Groundhog Day weather prognosticator for the Southern United States.
Geiger is an advertising specialties company with more than 500 employees and more than 550 sales representatives. It is the industry's largest family-owned and family-managed distributorship and is based in Lewiston, Maine.
The Ocean Prediction Center (OPC), established in 1995, is one of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction's (NCEP's) original six service centers. Until 2003, the name of the organization was the Marine Prediction Center. Its origins are traced back to the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. The OPC issues forecasts up to five days in advance for ocean areas north of 31° north latitude and west of 35° west longitude in the Atlantic, and across the northeast Pacific north of 30° north latitude and east of 160° east longitude. Until recently, the OPC provided forecast points for tropical cyclones north of 20° north latitude and east of the 60° west longitude to the National Hurricane Center. OPC is composed of two branches: the Ocean Forecast Branch and the Ocean Applications Branch.
Shubenacadie Sam is a Canadian groundhog who lives at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in the town of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Sam's shadow is closely observed at 08:00 AST to make the traditional prediction whether there will be an early spring. Due to Nova Scotia's Atlantic Time Zone, Sam makes the first Groundhog Day prediction in North America.
Buckeye Chuck, Ohio's official weather-predicting groundhog, resided in Marion, Ohio, US, until June 2023 and has resided at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in Cleveland since then. He is one of two groundhogs in Ohio known for predicting the arrival of spring on Groundhog Day. Chuck began predicting the arrival of spring in the 1970s. In addition, the Ohio General Assembly declared Buckeye Chuck the official State Groundhog in 1979. However, from 2006 to 2015, Chuck's forecast was correct only twice.
Groundhog Day is a tradition observed regionally in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early. In 2024, an early spring was predicted.
The weather media in the United States includes coverage of weather and weather forecasting by farmers' almanacs, newspapers, radio, television stations, and the internet. Farmers' Almanacs have taken a stab at forecasting for the following year or so for around two centuries. At first, weather media included reporting on past events, with forecasting playing a role from the late 19th century onward. Weather-related information proliferated to near real-time after the invention of the telegraph. Radio and satellite broadcasts made weather-related communication ever quicker, with the World Wide Web making broadcasting and reporting nearly instantaneous.
The January 2017 North American ice storm was a major ice storm that impacted the Great Plains, Pacific Northwest, and American Midwest. During the storm, multiple U.S. states declared states of emergency, and icy road conditions caused traffic incidents and fatalities. It was Named Winter Storm Jupiter by the weather channel. An outbreak of 11 tornadoes also struck Texas, injuring two.
Stormy Marmot is a yellow-bellied marmot of the Rocky Mountain region, living in Aurora, Colorado. Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Stormy makes a prediction for the remainder of winter.
The following is a list of weather events that occurred in 2017.
The 2024–25 North American winter is the current winter season that is ongoing across the continent of North America. The most notable events of the season so far have included a powerful bomb cyclone that impacted the West Coast of the United States in mid-to-late November, as well as a severe lake-effect snowstorm in the Great Lakes later that month. Additional events included a a wide-ranging blizzard that affected much of the central parts of the United States in early January, followed by a a winter storm that brought snow and ice to the South, a quick-moving nor'easter that affected much of the Northeastern United States, and a historic blizzard that struck the Gulf Coast of the United States in late January. An ongoing weak La Niña is expected to influence the weather patterns across the continent this winter.
