Central Illinois
Weather Forecast Office
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 about 2/3 of the time.
US Dept of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service
Central Illinois
1362 State Route 10
Lincoln, IL 62656
217-732-7321 (forecast recording) or 217-732-3089
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