The exceptions were in 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2018. A hit rate of 50 per cent gives Wiarton Willie a passing grade, which, combined with how cute he is, has made him a trusted weather predictor in southern Ontario over the past decade. Wiarton Willie to make prediction virtually on Groundhog Day Back to video “COVID-19 has been affecting nearly everything we do in our daily lives. Verdict: Correct. Pinterest. April dipped below average but just barely at 0.4 degrees below normal. The Town recognizes that with COVID19 restrictions, hosting the Wiarton Willie Festival is simply not possible. When spring finally came around, it arrived in full force. "It's an early spring," announced Jackson after throwing a fur hat into the air — a move they said hearkens back to the tradition's first edition more than 60 years ago. Wiarton Willie predicts early spring, others forecast more winter CTVNews.ca Staff Published Saturday, February 2, 2013 7:21AM EST Last Updated Saturday, February 2, 2013 11:26PM EST (Screen grab from video) Wiarton Willie’s conspicuous absence from his own Groundhog Day virtual event Tuesday got people wondering why. 6 hours ago Published Tuesday, Feb 02, 2021 5:06AM EST Last Updated Tuesday, Feb 02, 2021 9:36AM EST. CTVNewsKitchener.ca Digital Content Producer. In the past 10 years, Willie has had two predictions that were too close to call, making the other eight predictions an even split. Wiarton Willie predicts an early spring Mar 26, 2021 In Wiarton, Ont., the community's famous albino groundhog, Wiarton Willie, was nowhere to be seen as officials called an early spring after Wiarton Willie, Shubenacadie Sam Call Early Mar 26, 2021 Groundhog Day … "We saw for each of those years whether it was cooler or warmer than the baseline temperature and then compared it with Willie’s predictions," Kathirgamanathan said. Willie’s prediction turned 65 in a unique way Anniversary of the annual tradition hit due to COVID-19 . When he saw his shadow that day, Willie knew that we were in for a long winter. with MPP Bill Walker laughing over his shoulder.The pande Groundhog Day 2021: Wiarton Willie, Shubenacadie Sam, Others Will Be Making Predictions Online South Bruce Peninsula Mayor Janice Jackson announced an early spring at the virtual Wiarton Willie Groundhog Day prediction on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. They studied his prognostications over the past 22 years. Verdict: Wrong. That makes this another push. This year's Groundhog Day forecast was officially announced at 8:07 a.m. from Wiarton, Ont. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. “Well folks, my prediction is official,” the groundhog posted on Twitter. Emily Swerdfager and Shalini Kathirgamanathan, who are taking environmental sciences at the University of Waterloo, also wanted to find out how accurate Willie's predictions are. bride-to-be searching for missing engagement ring, What's clogging your toilet? Organizing a Festival of this caliber takes many months, substantial manpower and an abundance of sponsorships. But this year, the weather-prognosticating albino groundhog will be foretelling whether an early spring is on the horizon or six more weeks of winter lie ahead without a live audience, due to the ongoing pandemic. Verdict: Toss-up. While Willie again whiffed on two categories, April's average of 6 C was just 0.2 degrees below average before a much warmer-than-usual May. 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