FRIDAY’S WEATHER | GA’s groundhog Gen. Beauregard Lee predicts an early spring

While neither Gen. Lee nor Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil saw their shadow this year, the meteorological forecast is calling for at or near-average temperatures for the next three months, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. That means temps will hover around the mid to upper 50s this month. That climbs up into the mid 60s in March and around 70 degrees by the start of April.

The tradition of turning to rodents for weather outlooks is a tradition rooted in European agricultural life, marking the midpoint between the shortest day of the year on the winter solstice and the spring equinox, the Associated Press reported. What the Celts called Imbolc is also around when Christians celebrate Candlemas, timed to Joseph and Mary’s presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem.

While Punxsutawney Phil is one of the most famous groundhogs in the country, Gen. Lee might be one of the most qualified. He holds two honorary doctorates from the University of Georgia in “Weather Prognostication,” and from Georgia State University — a “Doctor of Southern Groundhogology”. He’s also been honored by the National Weather Service twice for his reliable forecasts, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.

As for today, it will indeed feel like an early spring by the afternoon. Highs will top out near 70 degrees under mostly sunny skies with no rain expected. In fact, rain should stay out of the forecast until Sunday afternoon, when showers filter in.

A cooling pattern is expected to arrive then, too, with highs staying in the low 50s. It’ll stay cool at least for the first half of next week, too, but a warming trend starts again on Wednesday.