Punxsutawney Phil, the legendary groundhog that lives in a tree stump in rural Pennsylvania, has issued the most highly anticipated weather forecast of the season: six more weeks of winter. The groundhog’s forecast was announced Monday by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club in rural Pennsylvania. Whe.
Punxsutawney Phil, the legendary groundhog that lives in a tree stump in rural Pennsylvania, has issued the most highly anticipated weather forecast of the season: six more weeks of winter.
The groundhog’s forecast was announced Monday by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club in rural Pennsylvania.
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When Phil sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. If he hadn’t seen his shadow, that would have foretold an early arrival of spring.
This event at Gobbler’s Knob dates back over a century and has ties to ancient European farming traditions. The festivities have grown since the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day.”
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In other parts of Pennsylvania, where groundhog lodges that celebrate an annual winter forecast proliferated a century ago, Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction was both confirmed and contradicted.
Grundsau Lodsch Nummer Sechzen am Yahden outside Allentown, or Groundhog Lodge No. 16 on the Jordan for those who don’t speak Pennsylvania Dutch, made a prediction of six more weeks of winter.
Octoraro Orphie, a stuffed groundhog in Quarryville, in the heart of Lancaster County’s Amish region, is said to have not seen his shadow and therefore predicted an early spring.
Mount Joy Minnie in Mount Joy also predicted warmer weather on the way. Also in Lancaster County, plush groundhog M.T. Parker said it’s going to be six more weeks of winter.
Poor Richard, a stuffed groundhog in York, not only is said to have predicted more winter, he also forecast the Seattle Seahawks will win the Super Bowl on Sunday.
More winter has a slight edge in the Groundhog Day predictions assembled at countdowntogroundhogday.com, a 15-13 lead over “early spring.”
Staten Island Chuck in New York joins Punxsutawney Phil in predicting six more weeks of ice and snow. Others in the winter camp are Concord Casimir, a cat in Cleveland; Chuckles the groundhog and Scramble the Duck in Connecticut; and Holtsville Hal, a New York groundhog.
Warm weather forecasts have been lodged by Maple, a groundhog in California; and Cedar, a groundhog in Illinois.
The taxidermied animal was displayed in the capital’s Dupont Circle neighborhood where it was announced that the deceased marmot had seen his shadow, predicting both six more weeks of winter and six more months of political gridlock. While Potomac Phil hasn’t been prognosticating nearly as long as his counterpart in Gobbler’s Knob, he has since predicted extended periods of political gridlock every year since his tenure began in 2012.
Michael Venos, who tracks Groundhog Day predictions at countdowntogroundhogday.com, said the early results Monday indicated a split verdict.
Agreeing with Punxsutawney Phil that more winter weather is on the way this year are General Beauregard Lee, a Georgia groundhog; and groundhog mascot Dover Doug in Pennsylvania.
Also in the “more winter” camp are That Dog Named Gidget, a Havanese in New York; and opossum Birmingham Jill in Alabama.
Those predicting an early spring include groundhogs Buckeye Chuck in Ohio; Fig Newton in North Carolina; and Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia. They are joined by Benny the Bass, a fish in Ohio; and Pennsylvania ferret Jessup Giuseppe.
