Collierville Carlos, our "Groundhog"

In 2021, Local meteorologist Chelsea Chandler was on a quest to discover an animal prognosticator for the Midsouth. She met a gentle raccoon named Carlos who lived at Menagerie Farms in Collierville and decided to make it her mission to make him the official prognosticator.? ?

The origin of animal prognosticators can be traced back to Germany when, according to folklore, if a hedgehog saw its shadow on Candlemas Day (February 2nd) there would be a second winter or six more weeks of cold weather.

On February 2, 1886, Groundhog Day was first documented in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania by The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper with a proclamation claiming ‘Today is Groundhog Day and up to the time of going to press the beast has not seen its shadow’. The tradition of Groundhog Day animal prognosticators grew beyond Punxsutawney Phil to Staten Island Chuck in Staten Island, New York, Sir Walter Wally of Raleigh, North Carolina, and even to the small community of Unadilla, Nebraska with Unadilla Bill.

Chelsea decided Tennessee needed to carry on this tradition, and a raccoon was a great choice, because it's also the state animal. She brought her idea to the Mayor's office at Collierville Town Hall.

Mayor Stan Joyner decided not only did he want to see an early spring in Town, but the community could also use a little cheer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mayor declared Groundhog Day as "Collierville Carlos Day" and encouraged everyone to "hope that the dark, cold days of winter were behind us and we will soon feel the warmth of spring once again"

(See the full proclamation below.)

The Mayor presented the proclamation to Chelsea, and on February 2, 2021, Carlos predicted his first early spring.

While the story could have stopped here, Chelsea went on to bring the idea of officially naming Carlos as the official state prognosticator to the State of Tennessee. In January of 2022, a resolution was sponsored by Representative John Gillespie of Memphis giving Carlos the state recognition.