Attention 'Hog
Massachusetts finally gets its very own weather-predicting rodent.
- MISH MATCH Michaels dons fake fur; Ms. G prefers the real thing. Photo by Tanit Sakakini.
Channel 4 meteorologist Mish Michaels once thought groundhogs were forecasting frauds. But, won over by their insidious cuteness, she’s now signed on to Mass Audubon’s quest to make Ms. G, a resident critter at its Drumlin Farm wildlife sanctuary, our official state groundhog. Legislation is pending; duties include seeing or not seeing a shadow.
“The folks in our weather department laugh at me,” Michaels says. But let them: We can’t expect the prognosticating 'hogs in Pennsylvania (Punxsutawney Phil), Alabama (Birmingham Bill), Georgia (General Lee), or Ohio (Buckeye Chuck) to know our weather as well as theirs. On Groundhog Day (2/2), Michaels and the G will produce a joint weather broadcast—the first of many, perhaps. It’s a heady turn for Ms. G, considering that a year ago, when Boston inquired about her for a possible story, Mass Audubon insisted she didn’t do meteorology. Have things changed? This winter will be telling.
