
Woody the Woodchuck predicted six more weeks of winter during Howell Nature Center's annual celebration on Feb. 2, 2026. (USA Today Network)
All signs point to bundling up, because six more weeks of winter is on the horizon—at least, according to Michigan’s official groundhog Woody the Woodchuck.
Woody gave her prediction during an annual celebration at Howell Nature Center on Feb. 2, seeing her shadow and running back into her den at the last moment.
The prediction came around 8:30 a.m. when the doors of “Woody’s House” opened and a 30-second timer began. Woody has been sharing her predictions since 1999, and has been right 63% of the time, according to officials at Howell Nature Center.
While the annual celebration on Groundhog Day is a fun, family-friendly event, the organization also wants to educate residents about woodchucks and how to live in harmony with them. Children, parents and grandparents split themselves up based on whether they were rooting for a longer winter or early spring; and many children participated in the center’s costume contest—dressing as winter, spring, or even Woody.
Woody spends her days at Howell Nature Center’s Wild Wonders Wildlife Park. According to legend, Woody arrived at the organization in 1998 as an orphan rescued by a farmer’s wife.
Punxsutawney Phil, the popular rodent of Pennsylvania, agreed with Woody—also predicting six more weeks of winter.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Michigan’s official groundhog predicts six more weeks of winter
Reporting by Makayla Coffee, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Lights, camera, bark! Dogs from Michigan prison training programs featured on 2026 calendar
By Camila Bello Castro, Capital News Service LANSING –The holiday season at the Department of Corrections is the time of the year when staff,...
Tracking moose on Isle Royale. How to volunteer for Moosewatch
A nonprofit group dedicated to studying moose-wolf interactions at Isle Royale National Park is looking for volunteers to hike the archipelago to...
Dozens of costumed canines get their chance to trick-or-treating at Howloween event in Michigan
LANSING, Mich. (AP)—Dogs dressed up as everything from Elvis Presley to Scooby Doo’s Mystery Machine went trick-or-treating in Michigan’s capital...
Researchers studying why Michigan’s moose population isn’t growing
By Rachel Lewis, Capital News Service LANSING – After the great “moose lifts” in the 1980s, researchers were confident Michigan’s moose population...
Michigan residents encouraged to report wild turkey sightings this summer
By Clara Lincolnhol, Capital News Service LANSING – The Department of Natural Resources is asking residents to report the number of wild turkeys...



