winter

After a frigid and snow covered past week and a half — and yet another APS snow day — you might be ready for a big warm-up.

Bad news: we have at least another week of mostly freezing temperatures, according to the forecast, and six more weeks of winter, according to Punxsutawney Phil.

The groundhog saw his shadow this morning in the woods of Pennsylvania.

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of wintry weather Monday, a forecast sure to disappoint many after what’s already been a long, cold season across large parts of the United States.

His annual prediction and announcement that he had seen his shadow was translated by his handlers in the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club at Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania.

The news was greeted with a mix of cheers and boos from the tens of thousands who braved temperatures in the single-digits Fahrenheit to await the annual prognostication. The extreme cold kept the crowd bundled up and helped keep people on the main stage dancing.

Usually guests can come up on stage and take pictures of Phil after his prediction, but this year the announcer said it was too cold for that and his handlers were afraid to keep him out too long. Instead, the audience was asked to come to the stage, turn around and “do a selfie.”

The club says that when Phil is deemed to have not seen his shadow, that means there will be an early spring. When he does see it, it’s six more weeks of winter. Phil tends to predict a longer winter far more often than an early spring.

Is cabin fever setting in, after one of the longest stretches of very cold temperatures in recent memory? Are you in desperate need of a warm weather escape while winter still rages here in Arlington?

Let’s find out how many local need to get away.