Georgia has two groundhogs that make annual weather predictions on Groundhog Day: Gen. Beauregard Lee and Yonah the Groundhog.
What’s Happening: Gen. Beauregard Lee operates from Dauset Trails Nature Center in Jackson. Yonah the Groundhog lives at North Georgia Wildlife Park in Cleveland.
The Elder Groundhog: Gen. Beauregard Lee’s name references Civil War generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard. A predecessor groundhog named after Gen. Robert E. Lee served as Georgia’s weather forecaster from 1981 to 1991, when Gen. Beauregard Lee began sharing forecasting duties. He lives in a mansion with air conditioning and heating at Dauset Trails Nature Center and holds a PhD in Groundhogology from the University of Georgia. After making predictions, he eats Waffle House hashbrowns. His predictions attract an international audience.
The New Kid on The Block: Yonah’s handlers call him “the world’s most famous meteorologist.” He trains for his annual prediction by napping and eating corn and bananas. Yonah shares the stage with Barnabus, a honey badger who predicts the Super Bowl result. In 2025, he saw his shadow and predicted more winter. In 2024, 2023, and 2022, he did not see his shadow and predicted early spring each year.
