NEW IBERIA – Louisiana's Cajun weather rodent did not see his “shadeaux” Thursday., insinuating a longer Spring for the Bayou State.

According to The Daily Iberian newspaper in Iberia Parish, nutria Pierre C. Shadeaux appeared from his habitat under heavy fog early Thursday to decipher the weather forecasters apparently can't with the latest technology. Shadeaux's Groundhog Day appearance south of Lafayette gave us better news than his counterpart, Punxsutawney Phil, who saw his shadow Thursday morning.

By seeing the shadow, legend has it there will be six more weeks of winter.

In 2016, The Advocate's Lafayette bureau reported Shadeaux lives at the Lafayette zoo and appears in New Iberia on Groundhogs Day each year.

Groundhogs Day dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries with origins in Europe.

Weather experts have reported the rodents are about 35% to 40% accurate.

In Shreveport, Claude the Cajun Crawfish makes predictions, too.

***************

Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @treyschmaltz