BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – Punxsutawney Phil has predicted six more weeks of winter and at least one meteorologist is predicting winter weather to last for at least this month.
"What we're pretty sure about is that the next 14 days are going to be quite wintry," Kirk Apffel, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, told WBEN. "We're looking at the outlook and the next seven days: All look to be below normal temperatures. It does indeed look to be a winter-like pattern. Beyond that...the entire month of February looks to be equal chances to maybe a little better than average chance of being below normal."
There was no data immediately available that showed how accurate the groundhog's prediction is.
"I envy him for his longevity," Apffel quipped.
Predicting the weather beyond the month tends to be more difficult for meteorologists.
"Every once in a while we can get some indications looking several months out about how it's going to be," he said.
Lake Erie only has about 14% of ice cover and while it will likely increase in the coming days due to the cold temperatures, Apffel said it will be a while before it's totally iced in.
