Let's start February by taking a quick look back at last month's weather. It won't come as any surprise to learn that January was warm. Just how warm is anybody's guess! The weather instruments located near Belvedere Castle suffered a power failure over the weekend so the Weather Service missed out on several days worth of temperature readings. Looking at surrounding stations our best guess is that Central Park was five degrees warmer than normal. While that's not warm enough to crack January's top ten it is the eleventh straight month that's been warmer than average. more ›

Have you ever wanted to see Mayor Bloomberg call local folk hero Staten Island Chuck a "son of a bitch"? Here's your lucky day! CityRoom noticed that on the Daily News' YouTube video of the Staten Island Zoo Groundhog Day ceremony, Bloomberg is ecstatic about a new device that helps push Chuck out of his house for his prediction, with the mayor saying, "That was so much better than having to reach in and let the little son of a bitch bite you." The News followed up with its own story about its video, removed the YouTube version (presumably to screw over the NY Times), and offered up its own unembeddable version of the video on a Daily News player. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg has had a tough month: he's received non-stop criticism over the city's poor handling of the first huge snowstorm of the winter. It's gotten so stressful for the Mayor, his neuroses have been running wild through City Hall, and he's even started breaking out his panic sweaters. But finally, he's getting some loving from one non-voting segment of his constituents: children. “Every single kid in New York loves Bloomberg today,” said mom Jodi Nagel. more ›

At 7:30 a.m. Staten Island Chuck very reluctantly came out of his winter home and did not see his shadow, therefore predicting that Spring is just around the corner. However, over in Pennsylvania, Puxsutawney Phil predicted more winter! Maybe a robot would be more accurate. The two have differed before, but for the record, Chuck has had correct predictions 80% of the time since the 1980s. more ›

What's warm in the middle and cold at both ends? January 2010! Overall last month's rollercoaster of a temperature ride wound up being four-tenths of a degree warmer than normal. Precipitation was only half the January average with a lousy 2.1 inches of snow. more ›

This Tuesday Staten Island Chuck will perform his annual duty of predicting more winter or an early spring—no matter how much the PETA troupe lobbies for his robot replacement. The question is: who will be his next victim? Last year he took a bite out of Bloomie, and the Staten Island Advance has video footage of Chuck plotting his next move. Since the Mayor will face his fears and attend the event again, there could be a rematch. more ›

Once a year PETA really turns up the crazy to 11. Last January they wanted us to call fish sea kittens, and now they want us to replace Puxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck—and presumably the rest of the nation's groundhogs—with robots. One PETA activist would like for the animals to be brought to a sanctuary and replaced with electronic groundhogs, noting that the "large, screaming crowds, flashing lights of cameras, and human handling" are no way for an animal to live. Hmm... actually, maybe Chuck was trying to make this very point when he bit Bloomberg last year. more ›

It was no contest. In a battle of weather legends Staten Island Chuck's month old prediction of an early spring was thoroughly pummeled by March coming in like a lion last night. Snowfall amounts generally ranged from 5-8 inches across the city this morning. More than a foot fell on eastern Long Island. more ›

Staten Island Chuck, your time has come! A Quinnipiac poll notes that New Yorkers support and your taste for Bloomberg blood. The groundhog bit the Mayor at the start of the month, to much fanfare, and Staten Island Advance reports the poll found "61 percent of New Yorkers, including 79 percent of borough residents, said he was protecting the Island's interests. Fifteen percent said he was making a political statement." However, Mayor Bloomberg has promised to show the Staten Island Zoo resident who's boss next year—"I'm gonna get the little SOB next year. I'm gonna bite him in front of the cameras"—though the Mayor must be re-elected to do so. Oh, and the poll also found that New Yorkers want mayoral control of the schools to continue. more ›

Fine, maybe the Marist poll revealing that Mayor Bloomberg's approval rating fell seven points is not correlated with his promise to get back at Staten Island Chuck. But on John Gambling's radio show Mayor Bloomberg did (jokingly) discuss revenge and retribution with the creature who bit him on Groundhog Day—"I'm gonna get the little SOB next year. I'm gonna bite him in front of the cameras"—which totally sounds like a way to work his way into the hearts of voters who want to see some sort of smackdown between a billionaire and a little ol' groundhog who just sent the Mayor chocolates for his birthday/Valentine's Day as an apology. more ›

After spending an awkward Groundhog Day together, Staten Island Chuck wants Mayor Bloomberg to know that he's sorry. The Staten Island Advance reports that the Staten Island Zoo's resident groundhog "sent some Valentine's Day affection toward Mayor Michael Bloomberg to apologize for biting him during a Groundhog Day celebration... To mark the mayor's birthday, which coincides with V-Day, and to get back on good terms with the man who holds the purse strings for a portion of the Zoo budget, Chuck offered Bloomberg a heart-shaped box filled with chocolates as an olive branch." more ›

After Staten Island Chuck, the Staten Island Zoo's weather predicting (on Groundhog Day, of course) groundhog, bit Mayor Bloomberg, causing a storm of media attention, the NY Times had to go back to the scene of the chomp: "He went rampaging across the stage in the zoo’s auditorium, knocking over a prop-size statue of a giraffe" and when he encountered a photo of Bloomberg, "Chuck rubbed his lips on the corner of the picture frame. He was not making nice — it looked as if he had bared his teeth." Still, Chuck's keeper, Douglas Schwartz, believes Chuck acted out because the small animal believed Bloomberg was taking away his food, a theory we believe since the mayor kept taking away Chuck's cob of corn. The zoo may trade this Chuck in for a younger edition (the zoo limits the groundhogs' stints to 3-5 years), but this Chuck has his fans—check out the Viva Chuck t-shirts. more ›

Charles G. Hogg, better known as Staten Island Chuck, the Staten Island Zoo's resident groundhog, is becoming a bit of a folk hero after his Groundhog Day encounter with Mayor Bloomberg. The rodent bit the Mayor, who was trying to coax him out for his annual prediction; the Daily News even put Chuck on the cover! more ›

At 7:30 a.m. this morning, Mayor Bloomberg was at the Staten Island Zoo, awaiting the appearance of Staten Island Chuck, the borough's Groundhog Eminence Grise. However, when the mayor tried to coax Chuck out of his little Groundhog Day house, the Staten Island Advance reports, "Chuck snapped at the mayor's hand, grabbed the tasty treat and ran back in. As Bloomberg reached for him, the groundhog tried hiding in the corner before eventually being lifted out." more ›

Staten Island Chuck proclaimed that spring is coming this morning at the Staten Island Zoo's Groundhog Day festivities. The Staten Island Advance reports that the interaction between Chuck and the mayor was pretty amusing, "Though Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried luring Chuck out of his house with an ear of corn, Chuck snapped at the mayor's hand, grabbed the tasty treat and ran back in. As Bloomberg reached for him, the groundhog tried hiding in the corner before eventually being lifted out." Heh! And phorget Phil: The Pennsylvania groundhog thinks there's six more weeks of winter—he's such a Debbie Downer! more ›

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, the day we rely on furry animals to predict whether we'll see another 6 weeks of winter or an early spring. Sure, Punxsatawney, PA-residing Phil has been celebrated in the 1993 classic, Groundhog Day, but New Yorkers have Staten Island Chuck, who spends half the week at the Staten Island Zoo and the other half at his keeper's house (he commutes by public transit!). more ›

As we mentioned over the weekend, Staten Island Chuck predicted a Giants Super Bowl victory as well as an early spring. He got the football prediction right, but what's the deal with the snow, Chuck? We tried to talk to him but his publicist would not return our calls! That forced us to look at a few weather maps, which led us to see that the snow shower was actually a harbinger of warmer weather to come. Maybe Chuck was right afterall. The snow was the result of anxious warm, moist air riding up and over the departing high pressure system that gave us a sunny day yesterday. more ›

Several hundred people, including Gothamist, gathered at the Staten Island Zoo early this morning to hear a well-fed rodent's forecast for the remainder of the winter. After the Tottenville High School chorus entertained the crowd local dignitaries and elected officials were introduced. Then, the moment everyone was waiting for. A Brownie troop member was enlisted to coax Staten Island Chuck out of his house with the aid of a few peanuts. more ›

Every year, we look forward to Groundhog Day for the appearances of Punxsutawney Phil, Staten Island Chuck, and the inevitable multiple screenings of the movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. But we also love Groundhog Day because it means that WNBC newswoman Sue Simmons is prodded into doing her impression of a groundhog. We love a beautiful woman not afraid to make herself look ridiculous--like when she fell off her chair and recovered somewhat gracefully. The video was recorded yesterday, as Sue has today--Groundhog Day--off from work. more ›

Our snowless, warm January is being followed by a very wet start to February. Expect rain and sleet throughout the day today. It's the dreaded wintry mix! We may even have a bit of thunder this afternoon. Actually, the weather freezing rain north of the city is making conditions dangerous from Connecticut through the lower Hudson Valley into northern New Jersey. Further upstate there's an ice storm warning in effect through 5 p.m. Within the city the ground isn't frozen so freezing rain won't happen here. Showers should continue until midnight or so. more ›

Nothing like a sunny Monday to start off the week. Especially when it is likely to be cloudy and wetter tomorrow and Wednesday. Clouds will roll in during the day tomorrow. Rain may begin as early as the afternoon but is most likely Tuesday night. Highs tomorrow and Wednesday should be in the mid-40s. The winds will pick up along with the rain as this is a fairly big storm approaching from the Midwest. The cold front trailing the storm is expected to clear all the moisture out of here by Wednesday afternoon. The storm is odd in that there's not much cold air behind it. Thursday's weather will be much like today's. Another storm passage, albeit a weak one, is expected Thursday night or Friday. more ›

Charles G. Hogg, VII would like to apologize. As you may recall, Mr. Hogg, better known as Staten Island Chuck, predicted an early end to winter. That prognostication by Gothamist's favorite mass transit-taking Marmota monax, turned out to be wildly inaccurate, as the second half of winter was much colder than normal and the greatest snowfall of the season occurring last week. Chuck told the Staten Island Advance "I want my public, my admiring fans... to know that I truly felt spring in my bones on Feb. 2." He went on to say that he should have paid more attention to his shadow than his bones. more ›

As we mentioned on Friday, Staten Island Chuck's forecast skills aren't the best. Instead of an early spring, today and tomorrow will be the coldest days yet this winter. An arctic front passed through the city around three o'clock this morning, bringing with it bone chilling cold, dry air and high winds. more ›

Hoorah! WNBC has a clip of Sue Simmons's Groundhog Impression, 2007 edition from yesterday's newscast. How did the WNBC anchor start imitating woodland creatures?

Sue says her imitation of the groundhog face actually began before she came to New York, when she was a reporter in New Haven. On Groundhog Day one year, she ended a live shot with the groundhog face, and for weeks, people kept coming up to her asking for a repeat performace.

Let us start by saying Gothamist loves Staten Island Chuck. But our unconditional love for New York's largest commuting rodent hasn't fogged our assessment of Chuck's forecasting ability. We realize this is the first time Chuck #6 has made a forecast, but it is as wrong as the last couple of forecasts the late Chuck #5 made. It pains us to contradict Chuck. There will be no early spring this year. more ›

The groundhog survey says we'll have an early spring. Staten Island Chuck, along with Punxsutawney Phil (pictured above), predicted an early spring. However, Holtsville Hal on Long Island saw his shadow for six more weeks of winter, but we'll assume he just woke up on the wrong side of the burrow this morning. As for today's weather, we'll have another post up about that in a bit. more ›

When you get up early tomorrow to see if Punxsutawney Phil or Staten Island Chuck see their shadows, try to remember to put on something red! February is American Heart Month and the American Heart Association (AHA) is launching the HEART for Women campaign to raise awareness. And the AHA is encouraging everyone to wear red this Friday to spread the word. more ›