No Shadow For 'Essex Ed' On Groundhog Day 2021: VIDEO

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An annual Groundhog Day tradition in Essex County has produced a bit of good news on a dreary winter day.

Essex Ed, the resident groundhog at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, made his annual weather and Super Bowl predictions for 2021 on Tuesday morning, which were livestreamed on the zoo’s social media page (see video below).

The furry forecaster didn’t see his shadow, which according to the superstition, means spring weather will come six weeks early.

As for the Super Bowl, Ed predicted that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LV on Sunday.

While gamblers might not want to wager the house on Ed’s football knowledge – he fumbled his pick for Super Bowl LIV – the prediction of warmer weather is welcome in Essex County, officials say.

“Essex Ed and I don’t always agree with the weather prediction, but this year I like his forecast of an early spring,” County Executive Joe DiVincenzo Jr. said.

County spokespeople passed along a tongue-in-cheek message from Ed with this year’s predictions:

“Even I couldn’t predict, what 2020 would bring / I mean, I just predict weather, secretly hoping for spring / At first quarantine was like hibernation, months at a time … all alone / Though when months turned to new seasons, I was way out of my zone! / So I started new hobbies, tried out new cuisine / Took online classes, learned yoga… I cleaned and I cleaned / Now Groundhog Day is MY day, to be the center of the room / But to stay socially distant, this year, I’m trying out Zoom! / No shadow, no shadow, no sun in the sky / Winter is over, we bid you goodbye / So dust off your jeans, put those sweatpants away / Expect spring to be early, and for it all to be okay / Still mask, social distance, and wash your hands too / But I predict a year of great memories, for me and for you / There is still a football game to be played, so here’s the prediction / Florida will bring a lucky seven for Brady is my intuition.”

Here’s some background information on the county’s most well-known whistle pig:

“Essex Ed has been predicting the mid-winter forecast since 1997 and the zoo had various other groundhogs predict before him. Essex Ed was mentored under the esteemed Punxsutawney Phil, but his predications are his own. New Jersey weather is not always in line with Pennsylvania’s after all, and Ed could easily see his shadow while Phil does not or vice versa. In the mid-2000s, Essex Ed started adding Super Bowl predictions to his prognostication. He’s much better at predicting the weather than football, but in his defense, he hibernates through most of the sport’s season.”

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