Don’t throw away your coat or mittens just yet.
But Buckeye Chuck may have once again trumped Punxsutawney Phil.
In a stunning plot twist that has some north central Ohio residents screaming, “I knew it!” into their frostbitten mittens, Buckeye Chuck — that smug, furry oracle of Marion — appears to have nailed the call on Groundhog Day Feb. 2 when he called for an early spring.
Meanwhile, it looks like his Pennsylvania counterpart once again whiffed like the Cleveland Guardians in the ninth inning, predicting six more weeks of winter.
The Ohio woodchuck domination is no real surprise. Chuck, who became Ohio’s official groundhog in 1979, has been about 75 percent accurate over the years and has a sunnier disposition.
Phil, who’s been at this gig since 1887, only bats around .350. That would be great for a member of the Guardians. But it’s less accurate than a coin toss.
We love Chuck.
After months of a soul-crushing, never-ending winter that buried driveways under two-foot drifts, turned snowblowers into gas guzzlers and convinced everyone global warming was just a cruel prank, the forecast is suddenly whispering the unthinkable: early spring might actually show up.
Tuesday, i.e. today, we will see a high near 54. That’s right — 54. People are already digging out shorts they swore they’d never wear again until June. Cars that haven’t seen their actual paint color since Christmas are rolling around looking confused.
Wednesday brings rain and a high near 62, because Ohio weather apparently decided to skip “mild” and go straight to “mock the snow shovel industry.” Wind gusts up to 34 mph will help remind everyone that hope is still dangerous.
But we ain’t out of the woods just yet.
By Friday night the low dips to 31, and Saturday-Sunday look like winter trying to stage one last pathetic comeback with a 30 percent chance of snow and highs barely cracking the 30s.
Classic Ohio fake-out. The groundhog equivalent of “psych!”
But the long-range vibe? It’s trending warmer as we slide closer to the end of February and prepare for spring to officially begin March 20.
The deep freeze that felt like it was personally sponsored by the ghost of Lake Erie is finally losing its grip. Lawns have emerged from under the white apocalypse like hostages blinking into daylight.
So raise a lukewarm coffee in salute to Buckeye Chuck, the only rodent in America with a functioning calendar. Punxsutawney Phil can keep seeing his shadow — Ohio’s ready to stop living in one.
Spring is loading. Don’t jinx it.