In news that will shock and alarm many, Essex Ed, the eminent groundhog and weather prognosticator at the Turtle Back Zoo in Essex County, saw his shadow this morning and predicted six more weeks of winter.

Operators of ski resorts were happy, but not many others. "It's disappointing," Kim Polito of Westfield half joked. Polito had just returned from Florida with her children Gabrielle and Brian. Today, instead of wearing T-shirts and shorts, the two preschoolers were bundled up in thermal fleece to visit Essex Ed and the bears.

Zoo Director Dr. Jeremy Goodman was on hand in top hat and tails to celebrate Groundhog Day, one of the few chances he gets to highlight the zoo in winter. "The winter is a good time to visit the zoo," said Goodman. "Lots of animals are more active in the winter, including the arctic wolves, the red panda and the amur leopard." Goodman noted that there are only 25 amur leopards still left in the wild.

Goodman, always up for promoting the zoo, also mentioned that there are warm indoor spaces at the facility as well, including the bear house and the reptile house. Zoo hours of operation are available online.

But back to Essex Ed, the star of the day. Facing off a crowd of press that would make Lady Gaga proud, Ed posed, fluffed, chomped on nuts, climbed on a log and in general was quite entertaining. Pretty impressive given the fact that Ed is 8 years old and groundhogs generally have a 10-year life span. And, he was on Good Day New York this morning. Ed also has had to overcome obstacles in life: he was a rehab animal whom zoo workers nursed back to health in his infancy.

This morning, zoo officials brought Ed out "as soon as the sun broke through," reported Goodman. "Unfortunately, he did see his shadow and he has been accurate seven out of eight years so far."

Nobody's perfect.