Kharkiv groundhog Tymkо says spring will come in 6 weeks

Steppe marmot (groundhog) Tymko IV, who lives at the research station of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (KNU) in Nesterivka, traditionally made a forecast on February 2 on when to expect the arrival of spring.

"This year the marmot saw his shadow. That is, spring will come in six weeks. At least he thinks so," the head of the station, Volodymyr Hrubnyk, translated the marmot’s prediction (the corresponding video was distributed by the university’s press service).

Marmot Day took place without visitors and the press. This year’s weather forecast was made by Tymko IV, the brother of the previous "prophet" Tymko III.

As noted in the video, this year there were no offspring in the family of Tymko III.

"There were no babies, probably because the winter was warm, and also the sounds of war. All these are unfavorable conditions for hibernation. The marmots slept very little, very shallowly," the video says.

As is known, Marmot Day has been celebrated at the biostation since 2004. Tymko II predicted the weather seven times, after which he went into well-deserved retirement. In 2017, in addition to the arrival of spring in six weeks, he also predicted that the EU would grant Ukraine a visa-free regime the same year.

Before that, his predecessor, Tymko I, was engaged in predictions before being sent into well-deserved retirement.