Eat my forecast, Phil!<\/p>\n
Staten Island Chuck has yet again solidified his record of prognostic prophecy by accurately predicting a long and dreaded winter this year<\/a>, a group of city school students has found.<\/p>\n The teen scientists from Susan Wagner High School<\/a> confirmed Thursday what many bone-chilled New Yorkers might have already guessed about the city suffering through six more weeks of winter after Groundhog Day on Feb. 2.<\/p>\n Staten Island Chuck accurately predicted that winter would stick around this year. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n The lengthy cold meaning the New York\u2019s resident rodent protected his 86% Groundhog Day accuracy rate, compared to Punxsutawney Phil\u2019s measly 39%.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know how accurate he is. We knew that he was going to be right, so we were kind of disappointed because no one really wanted six weeks of winter!\u201d said Abigail Saladis, 18, a senior at the school.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re happy he\u2019s right. We\u2019re upset about the news.\u201d<\/p>\n The students \u2014 made up of the Staten Island school\u2019s agricultural science and AP environmental classes \u2014 delivered the verdict at the borough\u2019s zoo Thursday for what District Attorney Michael McMahon dubbed \u201cAcademy Award Day for Chuck.\u201d<\/p>\n This year\u2019s prediction marks the 17th year the resident rodent \u2014 whose real full name is \u201cCharles G. Hogg\u201d \u2014 has accurately predicted the weather, bumping his history accuracy rate just above 86%.<\/p>\n His more-famous groundhog counterpart, Pennsylvania\u2019s Punxsutawney Phil, is only correct 35% of the time \u2014 though this year took a cue from Chuck and fell in line with his long-winter prediction. <\/a><\/p>\n Alexis Hartje, left, and Abigail Saladis, logged the daily high temperatures on the board for the last six weeks. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n There has been a long line of prognosticating fury city slickers carrying on the accuracy legacy at the Staten Island Zoo, all of whom are known eponymously as \u201cCharles G. Hogg.\u201d<\/p>\n The students have been tracking temperatures every day since Chuck saw his shadow on Feb. 2 using their state-of-the-art weather station, which detects the moisture in the soil on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cWe record the highest temperatures throughout the day and then we mark it down using color coordination to get a pretty accurate depiction of the weather day to day,\u201d explained Saladis, an environmental student.<\/p>\n According to their findings, the Big Apple spent 30 days over the last six weeks battling the frosty temperatures and several days of historic snowfall.<\/a><\/p>\n Susan Wagner High School\u2019s AP environmental and agriculture students revealed their results on Thursday. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n