Austin, TX
Move over, Phil: Texas Groundhog Day traditions that are bigger and better
Did You Know?: What is Groundhog Day?
Every February 2, people across the U.S. eagerly await for Punxsutawney Phil to tell us whether we will see more winter or finally spring. But where did this tradition come from and just how accurate is this little rodent? Good Day Austin meteorologist Adaleigh Rowe explains in this “Did You Know?”.
AUSTIN, Texas – Every year on Feb. 2, Americans turn their eyes to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow. An often-unfulfilled promise that decides six more weeks of winter or early spring.
In Texas, animal-based forecasts come with a Lone Star twist, from armadillos and alligators to prairie dogs and more. In the Lone Star State, Groundhog Day isn’t just about shadows on the ground, it’s a community event.
Tradition with a Lone Star Twist
A black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) (Photo by Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The backstory:
Groundhog Day is a tradition rooted in a 19th-century Pennsylvania superstition that says if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on Feb. 2, and sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks. If the groundhog does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early.
The superstition has inspired a wide network of animal prognosticators across North America, but in Texas, locals have embraced unique forecasters and unorthodox weather-predicting methods that reflect the state’s wildlife and culture.
Bee Cave Bob
Bee Cave Bob is a nine-banded armadillo from Bee Cave, Texas, who has been providing a weather forecast on Feb. 2 since 2010. This Texas town refers to the event as Armadillo Day, instead of Groundhog Day.
Photo courtesy: Bee Cave Bob on Facebook
During Bob’s annual appearance, he emerges from his burrow onto a concrete slab painted to resemble a highway. The armadillo’s behavior is then observed and interpreted to determine his weather prediction. If he sees his shadow, he will retreat and winter will go on for six more weeks. If Bob does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early.
Bee Cave’s “Armadillo Day” celebration is organized by the Benevolent Knights of the Raccoon, a Texas-based group that hosts the semi-private ceremony that takes place at a ranch known as West Pole Ranch, located on Highway 71. The event invites Texans to the Hill Country to celebrate with barbecue, chili and tamales.
Big Al in Beaumont
Big Al is a 94-year-old, nearly 14-foot-long alligator that weighs over 1,000 pounds from Gator Country Adventure Park in Beaumont, Texas. The alligator has been providing a Feb. 2 weather prediction since 2006.
Photo courtesy of Gator Country Beaumont Texas’s Facebook page.
On Groundhog Day 2026 at 2 p.m. Big Al will be provided with a serving of food, typically meat of some kind. If the alligator takes a bite of the food, that means Texas will have an early Spring. If he does not eat, there will be a long winter.
Big Al’s handlers told the Beaumont Enterprise that alligators are unable to digest food unless warm weather is on the way. So during this time of the year, when temperatures drop, alligators are in a state similar to hibernation, known as brumation. While in brumation, alligators reduce their body temperature and heart rate, slow down their metabolism and don’t eat. Only drinking water to avoid dehydration.
Prairie Dog Pete in Lubbock
Prairie Dog Pete is a prairie dog ambassador located at Mackenzie Park in Prairie Dog Town in Lubbock, Texas. The prairie dog became such an asset and goodwill ambassador for the city that Lubbock adopted it as its mascot.
The City of Lubbock uses the prairie dogs at the park as prognosticators to predict the weather in one of two ways. Similar to Punxsutawney Phil, Pete either sees his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter, or he does not see his shadow, indicating an early spring.
Pete’s forecasts in years past, have been done by choosing between celery or carrots as a method of predicting weather. If he chooses celery, that means six more weeks of winter. If he chooses the carrot, that means spring is on the way.
Wiener dogs in Buda
The Greater Buda Chamber of Commerce hosts their second annual Buda Ground Dog Day celebration at noon Feb. 1. A twist on the classic Groundhog Day, incorporating the city’s theme of wiener dogs, dating back to Buda’s inaugural competition in 1997 under the theme “The Amazing Wiener Dog.”
Buda, the self-proclaimed Wiener Dog Capital of Texas, traditionally chooses an honorary dachshund dog that gives the weather prediction for the Buda City Park event.
The honorary dachshund, Beans, will make the official prediction for the season ahead. Beans was selected as the honorary wiener dog for this year’s celebration during a random selection process on the city’s Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
In 2025, the honorary wiener dog, Nacho, made the first ever Ground Dog Day forecast at the Buda Amphitheater and Pavilion. Nacho’s weather-predicting method relied on him choosing between a stuffed snowman and a sunshine plush, upon his highly anticipated release from a dog house.
City of Buda, TX — City Government’s Facebook post
The Source: Information in this article was provided by Countdown to Groundhog Day. Additional information was provided by the official social media pages of the cities mentioned.
Michael Dorman
Austin, Texas, is revving up to sell $2.35 billion of debt for a convention center and a wastewater treatment plant, while a legal battle continues over bonds to help finance a light rail system.
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The bond boom comes as the city council voted on Thursday to pursue the development of a $390 million baseline general obligation bond package for the November ballot despite a call by Mayor Kirk Watson to wait until 2028.
“I believe we can and we should bring forward significant investments in the future,” he said. “In fact, if we restore compliance with our financial policies and we maintain the discipline we actually will have greater future capacity to do more for this community in 2028.”
A bond election would
The city, which last held a successful GO bond election in 2022 for $350 million of debt for affordable housing, had $1.03 billion of unissued voter-approved GO bond authorization as of the Sept. 30 end of fiscal 2025. Last year,
On Thursday, the city council signed off on a $34.5 million wrongful prosecution and conviction settlement with four individuals to be financed through the sale of non-voter-approved GO bonds.
The council approved up to $1.35 billion of special tax revenue bonds on May 21 for a $1.6 billion project to replace the city’s now-demolished convention center with a facility that will increase rentable event space to 620,000 square feet from 365,000 square feet.
Rich Saskal
The bonds are backed with revenue from certain city hotel occupancy taxes and incremental state tax revenue generated within a project finance zone the city established in 2024. Amounts and timings for issuing the debt are being determined, according to the city, which filed a petition with a Travis County District Court for an expedited validation of the bonds.
An ordinance approved in October
The city also plans to refund hotel occupancy tax-backed debt issued for the prior convention center in order to pledge a 4.5% hotel tax for the upcoming bonds.
“The refunding bonds are a separate, but related item to the expansion bonds and will only be secured by 2% venue HOT,” city documents said. “The 2% venue HOT will not be pledged to the expansion bonds and will cease to be collected upon final maturity or early payoff of (the refunding bonds).”
A petition drive that would have delayed the project fell 494 signatures short of a requirement for 20,000 valid signatures of registered voters, Austin City Clerk Erika Brady determined in November.
Petition backers are appealing a district court’s refusal to force validation in state appellate court after the Texas Supreme Court dismissed
The petition drive by Austin United PAC and others sought a ballot measure to stop the demolition and reconstruction of the convention center for seven years — or until the project was approved by voters — and prioritize city funding for local live music, arts, cultural, and outdoor tourism.
The Austin City Council also approved as much as $1 billion of water and wastewater system revenue bonds last month for the Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion and enhancement project. The bonds will be used to obtain a direct low-interest loan from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program.
Other financing sources for the $1.5 billion project are $59 million from the Texas Water Development Board Clean Water State Revolving Fund program and funding from Austin Water.
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The plant, which serves more than 50% of Austin and operates at a treatment capacity of 75 million gallons per day, will have its capacity increased to 100 MGD, helping meet future demand and requirements set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for Austin’s projected growth of 1.5 million by 2040, according to a city statement.
A legal logjam over a light rail system eased May 22 when the Texas Supreme Court finally ruled on a procedural issue related to an initial $150 million of bonds for the project. The high court ordered a Travis County Court judge to decide whether the bonds’ issuer, the Austin Transit Partnership, a nonprofit corporation created by the city and Capital Metro Transportation Authority, has standing to seek court validation for the debt.
City taxpayers who filed a lawsuit in 2023, along with the Texas Attorney General’s Office have been challenging the legality of the bonds, which would be paid off with a portion of Austin’s operation and maintenance property taxes
Escalating costs led ATP to downsize Project Connect to an initial less than 10-mile, 15-station system with a similar price tag. The completion of a federal environmental review in January allowed the project to continue a process
ATP said Project Connect is moving forward with construction scheduled to begin next year.
“We are confident in our case and look forward to our day in court,” ATP said in a statement. “The pending litigation has not slowed our progress advancing Austin light rail, which has hit major milestones in the federal funding process, design, and pre-construction work this year.”
Bill Aleshire, an attorney who filed the taxpayers’ lawsuit, cautioned that several issues remain before the court, including the legality of the downsized project and the ability to pay off bonds with property tax revenue that is supposed to be used for operations.
“Their federal funding is uncertain, their ability to issue bonds is uncertain, and they just stubbornly will not listen to us and say it’s time to pause Project Connect and rethink it, that maybe rail isn’t the best way to go at this time and maybe we can’t afford it at this time,” he said.
AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) — Does the state of Texas have too many law enforcement agencies? That was a topic of discussion at a Texas House Committee meeting on May 28, which focused on police standards and policy.
It was comments from TCOLE Deputy Chief TJ Vineyard that drew the attention of unions and lobbying groups representing law enforcement across Texas.
“We’re starting to look now at encouraging the consolidation of agencies,” Vineyard said during the nearly eight-hour-long hearing.
The response was almost immediate from groups representing various aspects of law enforcement.
One social media post on Facebook from the Texas Law Enforcement Association proclaimed concern about the future of smaller departments across the state, despite an exchange later in the hearing between the committee chair, State Representative Cole Hefner, and TCOLE’s Executive Director, Chief Gregory Stevens.
“We’re not taking police off the street?” Hefner asked. “We’re making sure that we have qualified people that are equipped and trained.”
“One hundred percent,” Stevens said.
According to TCOLE’s own numbers, there are more than 2,700 accredited agencies and some 83,000 peace officers.
The chair asked whether 2,700 was a good or bad thing, given that Texas has more agencies than the next four largest states combined.
“There is a lot of duplicative coverage,” Stevens said, “overlapping coverage. When it comes to resources, it can be inefficient.”
Also speaking on the panel was Jennifer Szimanski with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT), which also posted on social media about the hearing. While the group wouldn’t comment directly about consolidation, Szimanski told ABC13 that “consolidation is not the legislative intent for TCOLE” and that “we should be forward-looking and raising standards”.
But in a conversation with ABC13, Stevens said targeting smaller departments is not their intent. TCOLE wants every department, regardless of size, to comply with the higher standards implemented in 2023.
“Some of the things that are out there surfing out across social media and on other platforms is that TCOLE wants to shut down small agencies and let sheriff’s offices take over, and that’s absolutely not true. It couldn’t be further from what we’re doing,” Stevens said. “It doesn’t matter about the size of the agencies, and I want to be really clear on that point. TECOL is not out to shut down or to make life hard on a small municipal agency, a school district, police department, or what have you.”
But the larger conversation is not limited to the state of Texas.
Harris County is home to more than 60 agencies. In the last major study on overlap in 2018, Rice University’s Kinder Institute found that consolidation could help address inefficiencies. Kyle Shelton, now at the University of Minnesota, co-authored the report eight years ago.
“It’s really just an opportunity to look at how regional governments, which are often overlapping, best coordinate and collaborate on the services that they’re providing,” Shelton told ABC13.
Whether it’s Harris County or the state of Texas, the cost of funding and maintaining law enforcement agencies is getting more expensive. While consolidation may not be the answer, it is part of a conversation in which Kyle Shelton says governments should be engaging.
“It’s not a quick band-aid to pull off and say, ‘Hey, look, we fixed the budget crisis, or, you know, addressed some efficiencies here in a nice, neat three-month process,” Shelton said. “You know, it likely takes years and a lot of trust building, both with residents and the agencies.”
Texas does have more law enforcement agencies than the next four largest states combined, according to TCOLE.
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AUSTIN, Texas – Pride Month is celebrated each June.
It marks the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising that started in late June 1969. The protests are seen as a turning point in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. It inspired marches across the country in the years that followed.
More than a dozen cities and towns across Texas are celebrating with everything from parades to festivals to concerts and more.
A Pride flag is seen held up in a crowd during preparation for a Queer March to the Texas State Capitol on April 15, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)
Here’s a look at some of the dates and places Pride events are happening around the Lone Star State this month:
Austin also has a Pride celebration, but it is scheduled for Aug. 22.
The Source: Information in this story came from various sources, including official websites for events. AI was used to help assemble the list of events.
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