Hedgehog, La Nina to Bring Spring | News

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Jacksonville predict spring is already here.

According to Meteorologist in Charge, Steve Letro, our unseasonably warm temperatures this winter have been a product of a La Nina weather pattern.

"That creates high pressure across the Southeastern United States and that high pressure acts like a protective bubble around the area, which basically either slows down or completely stops any cold fronts trying to get through the area," Letro explained.

But tradition dictates that a small, furry animal must look for his shadow today to determine whether we will have six more weeks of winter.  The closest thing the First Coast has to a groundhog is a hedgehog.

He lives at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and despite all of the hedgehog's meteorology skills, Letro said our weather will likely not change much over the next six weeks.

"Far be it for me to impugn the accuracy of a furry little creature that people just love," said Letro.  "I will say that we don't necessarily put an awful lot of the groundhog's findings into our predictions."

Letro explained that one or two cold fronts could still hit the First Coast, but they will not stay long.

The Jacksonville Zoo will host a Groundhog Day event beginning at 11:30 this morning.  "Punxatawny Mille" will try to see if she spots her shadow at the entrance of the Asian Bamboo Gardens.