Surrounded by frozen piles of snow amid biting cold, Long Island’s furry forecaster Malverne Mel gave out a croak and revealed he had “seen” his shadow, meaning Long Island was in for six more weeks of winter.
Mel, who is a groundhog, made his annual “prediction” at the gazebo near the Malverne LIRR train station Monday as a crowd bundled up in layers cheered on the rotund rodent, Mayor Timothy Sullivan and a bevy of local officials. The crowd then booed his frigid forecast.
The prognostication was made in temperatures hovering around 15 with northwest winds of 12 mph and a wind chill of zero degrees.
Malverne Mel trying to stay warm on the day he told Mayor Timothy Sullivan that he “saw” his shadow Monday. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
Meanwhile in Suffolk, the Holtsville zoo may be closed, but its most famous resident, the groundhog Holtsville Hal, made his spring prediction in a prerecorded online appearance on the Brookhaven Town website.
Unfortunately, Hal also “saw” his shadow and retreated to his den, foretelling another six weeks of winter.
Some 350 miles from Malverne, another famous groundhog was making predictions. Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil reportedly “saw” his shadow at his home at Gobbler’s Knob, agreeing with his fellow forecasters on Long Island.
Staten Island Chuck, New York City’s representative in the 2026 Groundhog Day forecasting festival, made it unanimous for the region, “telling” a gathering at the Staten Island Zoo that he too saw his shadow and another six weeks of winter is ahead of us.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Maureen Mullarkey is a breaking news reporter at Newsday. She previously worked as a reporter for Patch, where she covered a range of Long Island stories on topics such as the Diocese of Rockville Centre bankruptcy and the Babylon School District abuse scandals.