N.J.'s weather-predicting groundhog Milltown Mel dies before his big day

Milltown Mel, one of several New Jersey groundhogs who have followed in the footsteps of Punxsutawney Phil in trying to predict the weather each year on Groundhog Day, won’t be among the shadow seekers at this year’s ceremonies. Mel recently passed away, according to a post on his official Facebook page. (Yes, this groundhog has his own social media account, handled by a group known as the Milltown Wranglers.)

“We Wranglers are sad to report that Milltown Mel recently crossed over the rainbow bridge,” the group posted on Facebook Sunday night. “Considering the average lifespan of a Groundhog is about 3 years, that is not such a shock, but Mel left us at a tough time of year, when most of his fellow groundhogs are hibernating... so no babies will be available to replace him until this spring.”

The group, which did not say what day the groundhog died, noted it “tried everywhere to get a stand-in, but to no avail!” It added: “We will work hard on getting us a new weather prognosticator for next year, till then please check out what all of Mel’s cousins have to say on Feb 2nd.”

Milltown Mel took part in the borough’s annual Groundhog Day ceremony during each of the past six years, according to a report by CentralJersey.com. The borough’s original Milltown Mel died in the summer of 2015 after several years of seeking his shadow. Mel is not New Jersey’s first Groundhog Day participant to pass away shortly before his big day in the spotlight. Stonewall Jackson, a groundhog who handled the annual weather forecast at the Space Farms Zoo and Museum in Sussex County, died on the night before Groundhog Day in 2016.

https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2022/02/njs-weather-predicting-groundhog-milltown-mel-dies-before-his-big-day.html