Malverne Mel Makes Groundhog Day Prediction

MALVERNE, NY — The verdict is in, sort of.

Malverne Mel is calling for an early spring after not seeing his shadow on Groundhog Day. Given the lack of snow thus far, maybe Mel is on to something.

However, the venerable Punxsutawney Phil had the opposite result in Pennsylvania.

Malverne Mayor Kevin Corbett led the festivities with Mel on Thursday.

"Groundhog Day is really the pinnacle of the year," the mayor told Newsday. "It really brings the community together."

The rest of the year Malverne Mel lives at the STAR Foundation, a wildlife rehabilitation group in Middle Island, Newsday said.

The #GroundhogDay results are in!@HempsteadTown hometown hero Malverne Mel says it's going to be an early spring, but Suffolk neighbor Holtsville Hal predicts six more weeks of winter.

Tiebreaker goes to #PunxsutawneyPhil…

6" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pu... more weeks of winter! 🥶 https://t.co/7PxFqMyx8F