Sir Walter Wally and Groundhog Day Raleigh 2017
North Carolina’s own groundhog Sir Walter Wally will make his appearance on Groundhog Day Raleigh 2017 on Thursday Feb. 2, 2017 in downtown Raleigh. Will he see his shadow and predict winter for 6 more weeks? Or will he not see his shadow meaning spring will come sooner? Groundhog Day is an annual tradition. It’s the day we find out if there will be 6 more weeks of winter or an early spring. The capital city of Raleigh brings out their own Sir Walter Wally each Groundhog Day. The exciting ceremony takes place on the steps of the Museum of Natural Science in downtown Raleigh. Each year the celebration grows with more people attending and more news stations covering to report the big news. This year more than 1200 people are expected to gather on the steps of the museum to see if the famous North Carolina groundhog sees his shadow or not.
Sir Walter Wally did not see his shadow this morning in downtown Raleigh. So his prediction
for North Carolina is an early spring!
Sir Walter Wally has a pretty good record of predicting a long winter or an early spring. Wally has a 50% success rate as compared to a 39% success rate of Punxsutawney Phil in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. In fact the Weather Channel puts him in the Top 11 Groundhogs to watch on Groundhog Day for an accurate prediction!
Our on Sir Walter Wally is of course named after Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh’s Groundhog Day Celebration The Shadow Ceremony takes place Thursday Feb. 2, 2017 from 9:00am – 1:00pm with the big reveal at noon in front of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. (See map for location below.) Watch Sir Walter Wally with special guest Governor McFarlane on Thursday morning. The museum will have several special exhibits related to the history of Groundhog Day, games, hats of Groundhog Day, animal facts related to winter and many other fun exhibits. Plus meet Sir Walter Wally!
Do you want an early spring or do you want more winter (and more snow)?! Let us know in the comments below!
Raleigh, NC 27601