Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Hey Punxsutawney Phil, What Happened To That Early Spring?

The sign says one thing. The snow pile says another. In Boston on Tuesday, a woman walked between a store sign heralding the start of spring and a snow pile still lingering from this winter's storms.
Brian Snyder
/
Reuters /Landov
The sign says one thing. The snow pile says another. In Boston on Tuesday, a woman walked between a store sign heralding the start of spring and a snow pile still lingering from this winter's storms.

"An early spring for you and me."

So said Punxsutawney Phil back on Groundhog Day (Feb. 2.) — which, if our math is right was, 6+ weeks ago.

Well, Phil, not only is The Weather Channel forecasting snow in your part of western Pennsylvania today (and again Wednesday, Thursday and even next week), but check out these headlines from around the Northeast and New England:

-- "Winter Just Won't Quit." (Boston Globe)

-- "Snow Falls, Schools Close." (Vermont's Burlington Free Press)

-- "Roads Get Slick As Snow Returns." (Albany's Times Union)

-- "Snow Causes Closures, Delays." (Hartford Courant)

-- "Winter Storm In North New England A Day Before Spring." (Maine Public Radio)

From way upstate New York, Sarah Harris of tells our Newscast Desk that some places in northern New York and across into New England could get 18 inches or so of snow in the coming day or two. "Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, northern New York, and most of Massachusetts are under a winter storm warning until Wednesday," she says.

And remember, these are places that already got buried several times this winter. Some of their snow piles will still be there in May.

So, Phil, if we may be so bold: You blew it this year.

But be brave, you folks getting more snow. According to the calendar, at least, spring begins Wednesday. Believe it or not.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.