It's Groundhog Day and people are waiting to learn whether a critter in a Pennsylvania town will predict an early spring or six more weeks of winter.
While Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog seer, he's certainly not the only one. According to records dating back to 1887, Phil has predicted winter more than 100 times. The annual event in Punxsutawney originated from a German legend about a furry rodent.
Punxsutawney Phil predicts more winter ahead. Groundhogs may not have a great track record when it comes to weather forecasts, but experts say the tradition ...
"I strongly suspect that the people that go to Gobbler's Knob are fully aware of the power of science, but at the same time want to hold on to traditions and a deeper vibe," he says. So he's able to confirm that while Groundhog Day is pegged to Candlemas, it also coincides with the time of year when groundhogs in the northeastern U.S. So there also could be evolutionary responses to this, and what we're really looking at is the evolutionary response to changes over time and the sort of within-generational plasticity, flexibility, if you will." [parts of the U.S.](https://countdowntogroundhogday.com/groundhogs-from-around-the-world) and Canada now have their own beloved animal prognosticators, with some of Phil's better-known contemporaries including New York's " [Staten Island Chuck](https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/groundhog-day)" (aka Charles G. Punxsutawney Phil's handlers, known as the "Inner Circle," continue to wear dark tuxedos, long tails and top hats even today, he points out. The club says Groundhog Day is the same today as when it first started — if the old-timey garb and scrolls are any sign — just with far more participants. His department always has a Groundhog Day party, even in perennially-sunny Los Angeles — but he says you don't have to be a "marmot enthusiast" (as he describes himself) to get something out of the day. "But the idea of watching animals and whether they see their shadow out of hibernation had been going on before that, it just hadn't turned into a public festival until later in the 19th century." And because hedgehogs aren't native to the U.S., they turned to groundhogs (which were plentiful in Pennsylvania) instead. [that feast day](https://www.almanac.com/fact/candlemasgroundhog-day-its-no-accident-that-groundhog-holiday), clergy would bless and distribute all the candles needed for winter — and over time the focus of the day became increasingly about predicting how long winter would last. Germany went a step further by making animals — specifically hedgehogs — part of the proceedings. (One could say it's almost like the 1993 comedy "Groundhog Day" ...
Punxsutawney Phil has only been accurate 40% of the time over the last 10 years, according to data from NOAA.
North of the border, Canadians in Nova Scotia turn to [Shubenacadie Sam](https://wildlifepark.novascotia.ca/shubie-sam.asp). German immigrants brought this tradition to Pennsylvania, and in 1886 the editor of Punxsutawney’s newspaper teamed up with a group of groundhog hunters to begin the legend of Punxsutawney Phil’s weather prowess. [shooting the film with Murray was “difficult,”](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/groundhog-day-anniversary-bill-murray-andie-macdowell-1235310951/) because a rift had formed between the duo that lasted two decades. [Woodstock Willie ](https://woodstockgroundhog.org/)presides in Woodstock, Ill., where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed. But a co-star that bites you twice, well now, that’s a problem,” Murray said in a 1993 interview with The Inquirer, adding that the crew was banned from using the real Punxsutawney Phil while making the movie because it was filmed in Woodstock, Ill. Live Science did an analysis of the data last year and concluded [Phil’s six-week predictions have been correct just 39% of the time.](https://www.livescience.com/32974-punxsutawney-phil-weather-prediction-accuracy.html) Tens of thousands of groundhog enthusiasts gathered in the small Western Pennsylvania town in the early morning hours to watch the annual ceremony, hosted by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. Unfortunately, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped Charlotte on the ground, and the groundhog died several days later. He and his predecessors have been making weather predictions since 1981, and he differed from Phil last year by correctly forecasting an early spring. While Chuck doesn’t get near the acclaim, he’s had to deal with more harrowing conditions than his Pennsylvania counterpart. Last year, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter by seeing his shadow. The nation’s most popular marmot saw his shadow Thursday morning after leaving his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney.
Nothing can keep that weather prognosticating groundhog down. Punxsutawney Phil was back at it again celebrating Groundhog Day with thousands in ...
It's been the same Punxsutawney Phil for all 137 years of the tradition, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. In the late summer, the club makes a Trek to Phil's Stump at Gobbler's Knob to feed him his “Elixir of Life,” members say. The first front page coverage came in 1908, when Phil saw his shadow. His longest stretch of seeing his shadow is 21 years, which came between 1913 and 1933. Each year since then has seen a steady increase in participation of the celebration from people all over the world, according to groundhog.org. A cloudy day means the opposite. The legend is simple: the groundhog's shadow on Feb. 2, midway between the start and end of winter. In Minnesota, residents in the northern portion of the state dealt with temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees with light winds meaning 35 below in some areas during portions of the week. In Punxsutawney, 1886 marked the first time that Groundhog Day appeared in the local newspaper. The annual event has its origin in a German legend about a furry rodent. [300,000 residents to be without power in Texas](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2023/02/01/ice-storm-texas-arkansas-tennessee-wednesday-weather-updates/11150433002/) and forcing the cancellation of up to 2,200 flights.
New York City's local groundhog, Staten Island Chuck, did not see his shadow Thursday, signaling an early spring.
the governor tweeted. Lady Edwina of Essex says six more weeks of winter. "Yep. He has an accuracy rate of 39%. The newest member of the four-legged weather crew is Lady Edwina of the Turtle Back Zoo []
The weather predicting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil has made it official. After seeing his shadow, he forecast six more weeks of winter for the U.S..
- 2018: Shadow - 2017: Shadow - 2015: Shadow His longest streak of seeing his shadow remains at 31, when he saw it every year from 1903 to 1933. - 2014: Shadow Phil spotting his shadow means we will have six more weeks of winter.