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Staten Island Chuck Says 'Spring Is Coming'

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - If you've been wondering where winter has been, what with the warm weather and all, wonder no more - it won't be around for long, anyway.

Staten Island Chuck, the resident rodent prognosticator of the five boroughs, says spring is coming early. Chuck did not see his shadow.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on hand for the prediction. Bloomberg wore thick gloves while handling him, most likely in an effort to avoid the wrath of Chuck, who took chunk out of Bloomberg's finger in 2009.

1010 WINS' Steve Sandberg reports

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However, Chuck's chief competition in rodent forecasting, Punxsutawney Phil, disagrees.

Phil did see his shadow, forecasting six more weeks of winter.

Prognosticators on Long Island also contradicted each other. Suffolk County's Holtsville Hal didn't see his shadow, predicting an early spring, while Malverne Mel saw his shadow calling for six more weeks of winter.

WCBS 880's Sean Adams On The Story

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The Staten Island Zoo, where Charles G. Hogg makes his burrow, reportedly says Chuck has accurately predicted the forecast some 80 percent of the time since the 1980s.

Who do you think is right? Take our poll, and sound off in our comments section below.

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