Concord Casimir calls for flip-flopping end to winter, keep both your long Johns and shorts handy

The well-known weather predicting groundhogs—national celebrity Punxsutawney Phil and Ohio’s Buckeye Chuck, predicted six more weeks of winter on Groundhog Day last Thursday, Feb. 2.

Local Cleveland favorite weather forecaster Concord Casimir agreed with his marmot cohorts when he made his much anticipated forecast at Ellison Creek Knob in Concord. 

Casimir is predicting some dramatic shifts to our weather for the duration of our winter where Northeast Ohioans will be freezing one week, and then shedding winter clothing layers the next week.

<span class="content-image-text">John Niedzialek with Casimir</span>John Niedzialek with Casimir


“It’s all in the way Casimir eats his pierogi,” explains John Niedzialek, master of ceremonies and Casimir’s owner. “It’s a no brainer this year folks. Casimir was flipping his pierogi around today during his annual prediction meal and that can mean only one thing: expect a “flip- flop” end of winter.”

Casimir has predicted the spring weather accurately every year since he started participating in Groundhog Day back in 2014, says Niedzialek. “With Casimir’s forecast last year right on the money—predicting all that rain—there should be a movement to rename Feb. 2 Concord Casimir Day,” says Niedzialek.

A volunteer at St. Casimir Polish Church in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood, Niedzialek is a weather enthusiast and a retired soil conservationist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He works part-time for the Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District and teaches earth science at Lakeland Community College.

Casimir was found abandoned as a kitten on the footsteps of St. Casimir Church, what many refer to as “Cleveland’s Miraculous Polish Church” after it reopened on July 15, 2012.

This year Casimir, also known as the Polish Prince of Felines, moved up his forecast two hours from noon to 10 a.m., due to news media demand. Casimir was not happy about the earlier time. You would think a cat who only works one day out of the year would not mind getting up a little earlier but no, Casimir was one grumpy cat. Niedzialek says he thinks Casimir caught a glimpse of that critter from Pennsylvania on television, and that got his morning off to a rough start.