Staff Writer
FRENCH CREEK Due to COVID-19 concerns, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources announced Tuesday that West Virginia’s Groundhog Day Celebration has been canceled.
The annual event that draws visitors from throughout the Mountain State is held annually on Feb. 2 at the state Wildlife Center in Upshur County. The state’s most famous animal and resident groundhog of the center, French Creek Freddie, traditionally makes a weather prediction for the upcoming months.
Early spring can be expected if Freddie doesn’t see his shadow, which is a result of overcast skies on Groundhog Day. If it is sunny, Freddie will see his shadow and return to his burrow for six more weeks of winter.
morning and much of the day. back to you. thanks for that lovely weather report. of course, we ll have much more on the monster storm later on america this morning and also on good morning america. in other news, another cruise ship sailing around antarctica has run into problems. this time it hit a rock that broke through the outer hull. officials say it did not breach the inner hull so thankfully the ship did not take on any water or leak oil. 80 tourists and 35 crew members are on board the polar star. there are differing reports, though, about whether they are being evacuated now. the ten-day cruise is set to end in argentina on sunday. now to egypt where tensions are high. despite president mubarak s announcement that he will not run for office again. while antigovernment protesters remain camped out in cairo s main square, pro-mubarak demonstrators are gathering there, too. alex marquardt is joining us by phone from cairo this morning.