It will be a longer winter, General Beauregard Lee has declared.
The Georgia-based groundhog, who bears a distinctly southern name, cast his Groundhog Day prediction early on Feb. 2 in a live stream on the Facebook page for Dauset Trails Nature Center, where he lives.
Emerging from his groundhog-sized mansion, known as Weathering Heights, Beau saw his shadow, the traditional sign that six more weeks of winter is on the way.
It’s part of the wider Groundhog Day traditions celebrated around the U.S. and Canada.
General Beauregard Lee is Georgia’s official groundhog weather forecaster, but he’s not the only one around. Also in Georgia, Yonah the Groundhog has been making predictions since 2020. There’s also Staten Island Chuck in New York, Buckeye Chuck in Ohio and most famously, Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania.
See Punxsutawney Phil make his prediction during Groundhog Day 2026
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Groundhog Club Vice President Dan McGinley speaks during the Groundhog Day festivities, at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on February 2, 2026.
The annual tradition says if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, an early spring is coming.
Who is General Beauregard Lee?
General Beauregard “Beau” Lee has been Georgia’s official groundhog forecaster since 1991. He replaced General Robert E. Lee, a groundhog named for the Confederate general who began making predictions in 1981.
General Beauregard Lee lived at the Yellow River Game Ranch in Gwinnett County, Georgia, until it closed in 2017. He was then relocated to Dauset Trails Nature Center in Jackson, Georgia, where he resides today.
What did General Beauregard Lee predict in 2025?
In 2025, General Beauregard Lee predicted more winter. Before that, he predicted early spring for four years in a row.
Why do we celebrate Groundhog Day?
Groundhog Day is celebrated annually on Feb. 2. While not a federal holiday, it notably marks the day the famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicts the weather.
According to tradition, if Phil sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter are coming. If he doesn’t, an early spring is ahead.
Groundhog Day is the same day as the Christian feast day Candlemas, where some of the holiday’s traditions originate, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Candlemas was developed to anticipate the planting of crops, so a key aspect of the festivities was forecasting either an early spring or a prolonged winter. Sunshine on Candlemas was said to indicate winter’s continuance.
According to the Almanac, Europeans traditionally looked to bears or badgers to look for the sign of returning winter or coming spring, but when German immigrants arrived in Pennsylvania, they instead used groundhogs to make the forecast.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did Georgia groundhog see his shadow? Beauregard Lee prediction