Ms. G, the official state groundhog of Massachusetts, did not see her shadow Thursday morning — meaning that, at least according to her, Massachusetts will have an early spring.

It’s a Groundhog Day tradition: Trusting a small, furry creature with predicting the weather — something that our meteorologist Dave Epstein, has thoughts about.

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“I can calculate things. I know physics and calculus,” Epstein said. “That is a rodent. It's a rodent. It lives in the ground.”

Nevertheless, for lots of people, today is a day to celebrate that rodent. And here in Massachusetts, we have our very own official state groundhog: Ms. G.

“Groundhogs are amazing creatures,” said Renata Pomponi, senior regional director for metro Boston for Mass Audubon.

Ms. G is a wildlife ambassador for Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, meaning she travels to meet groups of children and helps them get excited about nature. Since 2014, she has been the official groundhog of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Ms. G lives indoors during the winter, where she is warmer and fed on a more regular schedule. Her favorite foods are kale and broccoli, Pomponi said, and she also enjoys corn.

Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are in the rodent family. Wild groundhogs are true hibernators, Pomponi said. When the weather gets colder, they go underground into a network of burrows.

“During that time, their heartbeat drops to only four beats a minute. Their body temperature drops to about 40 degrees, and they're basically just hanging out there during the time when there isn't a lot of food for them,” Pomponi said.

Every Feb. 2, Ms. G is brought into an outdoor enclosure in front of groups of schoolchildren. If she gets nervous and crawls into a burrow — perhaps because she saw her shadow — humans will interpret that as her forecast calling for six more weeks of winter.

But if she enjoys the weather and munches on fresh vegetables, it’s a harbinger for early spring, as happened this year.

“I've got to say, our Ms. G is a fearless woodchuck. She is not afraid of anything, but she really likes this fun tradition,” Pomponi said. “I think she actually really enjoys the ceremony: a little bit of attention, a few cameras on her on that official day for her.”

There is another, better-known groundhog, who lives in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and has a significant following. But for a New England forecast, it makes sense to go to a New England groundhog, Pomponi said.

“We believe in local forecasts here.” she said. “New Englanders love their weather. And so we wanted to have a local prognosticator for Groundhog Day rather than relying on more distant forecasts.”

Groundhog Day in the United States began in the 1700s, when German settlers in what is now Pennsylvania brought that tradition of Candlemas Day, halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In Europe, they would look to badgers for a sign of spring, Pomponi said.

“When the settlers came to America, there weren't a lot of badgers,” she said. “But they had woodchucks which seemed, you know, similar enough.”

Groundhogs like Ms. G rely on the weather among other factors for their sense of time, Pomponi said. As the climate changes and warms, that affects groundhogs, too.

“If the weather seems warmer in a typical year, woodchucks might come on earlier. But that doesn't mean that the food that they need will necessarily be in sync with that earlier arrival,” Pomponi said.

Pomponi is not one of Ms. G’s day-to-day caretakers, but she loves interacting with her every year.

“We have a special way about us,” she said. “I don't know her as well as her daily caretakers do. But come Feb. 2, she knows I give her the signal. It's time to shine.”
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Correction: This story has been updated to correct the name of Mass Audubon.