ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — I don't normally argue with rodents, but Punxsutawney Phil is wrong! And guess what, he is only right 40% of the time.
Phil saw his shadow early Thursday morning, meaning that he is forecasting six more weeks of winter. For us in Florida, it doesn't really matter if we get six more weeks of winter or if we get an early spring. We are forecasting above-average, more spring-like temperatures over the next several weeks.
We will see a slight cool down Friday into the weekend with highs in the 70s. Even with those cooler temperatures, we will still be at or above our average high in the low 70s this time of year.
Then temperatures warm right back up toward the low 80s for most of the next work week.
Even the monthly temperature outlook shows a high probability of above-average temperatures for most of the eastern United States, including Florida.
Does this mean that we won't have cooler periods? No, but we will see a lot of warmer days than cooler ones.
The one part of the county that Punxsutawney Phil might be right about is the western states. The west coast and intermountain west will likely see cooler than normal temperatures for the month of February, which will be great news for snow conditions at ski resorts.
Overall, expect more great weather across the sunshine state, and don't worry about Punxsutawney Phil saying six more weeks of winter. For us, it will be six more weeks of 70s and 80s!