PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) 鈥� , the legendary groundhog that lives in a tree stump in rural Pennsylvania, has issued the most highly anticipated weather forecast of the season: of winter.
The groundhog鈥檚 forecast was announced Monday by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club in rural Pennsylvania.
When Phil sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. If he hadn鈥檛 seen his shadow, that would have foretold an early arrival of spring.
This event at Gobbler鈥檚 Knob dates back over a century and has ties to ancient European farming traditions. The festivities have grown since the 1993 movie 鈥淕roundhog Day.鈥�
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Pennsylvania groundhogs weigh in
In other parts of Pennsylvania, where groundhog lodges that celebrate an annual winter forecast proliferated a century ago, Punxsutawney Phil鈥檚 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鈥檛 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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.
Animal weather predictions are split despite Phil鈥檚 forecast
More winter has a slight edge in the Groundhog Day predictions assembled at , a 15-13 lead over 鈥渆arly spring.鈥�
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.
Washington鈥檚 Potomac Phil predicts 6 more months of political gridlock
The taxidermied animal was displayed in the capital鈥檚 Dupont Circle neighborhood where it was announced that the deceased marmot had seen his shadow, and six more months of political gridlock. While Potomac Phil hasn鈥檛 been prognosticating nearly as long as his counterpart in Gobbler’s Knob, he has since predicted every year since his tenure began in 2012.
Split vote among groundhogs and others regarding weather
Michael Venos, who tracks Groundhog Day predictions at , 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 鈥渕ore winter鈥� 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.
That鈥檚 just the start 鈥� Venos expects to tally about 100 events.
Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, predicts 6 more weeks of winter
Punxsutawney Phil is predicting six more weeks of winter after his handlers said he saw his shadow outside his tree stump on Gobbler鈥檚 Knob.
The groundhog鈥檚 forecast was announced Monday by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club in rural Pennsylvania.
When Phil sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. If he hadn鈥檛 seen his shadow, that would have foretold an early arrival of spring.
Cold weather greets Phil and the crowd of revelers
Icy temperatures Monday kept the crowd bundled up 鈥� by all accounts the mercury remained in the low single digits in the hours before the prognostication.
Dance music and probably a desire to stay warm kept people on the main stage dancing 鈥� including a cold looking beauty queen.
The Groundhog Day traditions include festive hats 鈥� and on Monday they were helping stave off the brutal cold.
The crowd and performers danced to tunes such as 鈥淪hout鈥� And 鈥淪unday Finest鈥� in the cold weather.
It was 2 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 17 degrees Celsius) out, according to the National Weather Service.
Phil was expected out soon.
鈥淲ake up Phil!鈥�
The band 鈥淛uvenile Characteristics鈥� sang 鈥淲ake up, Phil!鈥�
They called out, 鈥淟et鈥檚 Wake Him Up!鈥�
It is a Groundhog Day-themed song, often used to wake up Punxsutawney Phil at Gobbler鈥檚 Knob.
The group then led the crowd chanting, 鈥淧hil, Phil, Phil,鈥� about 15 minutes before Phil was expected to come out.
Meanwhile, a video said to have been produced by 鈥渢he wizard of hog鈥� got the crown ready for Phil鈥檚 imminent arrival.
Along with classic rock songs and the stadium anthem 鈥淪even Nation Army,鈥� it also included exhortations such as 鈥渁ll year we鈥檝e trained for this鈥� and 鈥渢his means nothing and yet it means everything.鈥�
Inner circle members arrive at Gobblers Knob
You have to be a resident of the Punxsutawney Area School District to become a member of the groundhog club鈥檚 inner circle 鈥� the tuxedo and top hat-wearing crew that runs the show.
They all have nicknames that befit their status 鈥� Shingle Shaker, Moonshine, Big Chill, Frostbite, Rainmaker, Iceman, Downpour, Fair Weatherman and Daybreaker, among them.
Openings come up infrequently, and the club looks for people who are willing to make the significant time commitment it takes to care for Phil and his family and put on the massive yearly event.
Politicians are drawn to Phil鈥檚 big day
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick was among the political figures drawn to the Gobbler鈥檚 Knob stage on Monday — noting his mother was from Punxsutawney.
Also spotted were state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is currently pursuing the governorship, and top state Senate Republicans Joe Pittman and Kim Ward.
Meteorologist sees more cold weather ahead
AccuWeather鈥檚 chief long-range weather expert, meteorologist Paul Pastelok, said some clouds moved into Punxsutawney overnight, bringing flurries he called 鈥渕icroflakes.鈥�
Pastelok said the coming week will remain cold, with below average temperatures in the eastern United States.
鈥淲e鈥檝e still got some more snow and ice to contend with鈥� in the mid-Atlantic, Ohio River Valley and Northeastern U.S., he said.
As for long-range forecasts, Pastelok said: 鈥淭he farther out you get the accuracy is not specifically on point all the time, but we can get trends.鈥�
Pastelok was in the State College area, about an hour from Punxsutawney.
Rooting for an early spring
Lisa Gibson was in Punxsutawney to attend Groundhog Day for the 10th time, wearing a lighted hat that resembled the tree stump from which Phil would emerge shortly after daybreak.
鈥淥h man, it just breaks up the doldrums of winter,鈥� said Gibson, accompanied by her husband — dressed up as Elvis Presley — and teenage daughter. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like Halloween and New Year鈥檚 Eve all wrapped up into one holiday.鈥�
Gibson, a resident of Pittsburgh, was rooting for Phil to not see his shadow and therefore predict an early start to spring. She was there to 鈥渉ave a good time, and bring on that early spring.鈥�
Birthday celebration at Gobbler鈥檚 Knob
Among the revelers streaming to the site early Monday was India Kirssin, there to celebrate her 27th birthday with a group drawn from Ohio and Washington, D.C.
Kirssin said it was her second Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney — the first was on her 10th birthday.
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 in a good mood, it seems like,鈥� Kirssen said, holding a customized sign.
She floated the plan to return this year back in November: 鈥淚t all came together last minute.鈥�
Yep, some people eat groundhogs
Groundhogs are herbivores that are themselves edible to humans, although they are not widely consumed.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission says about 36,000 hunters reported killing more than 200,000 groundhogs last year.
Game Commission spokesperson Travis Lau found groundhog a bit stinky to clean and thick-skinned, but 鈥渁ctually really good鈥� and 鈥渕ore like beef than venison.鈥�
Some cooks advise that groundhogs are best taken when they are young and after clover is in bloom, since a clover diet is thought to improve the meat鈥檚 taste.
Texans will be looking to 鈥楤ee Cave Bob鈥� for their prediction
A couple hundred people are expected to gather Monday afternoon in Bee Cave, located just west of Austin, to watch an armadillo named Bee Cave Bob.
Mike Burke, who helped start the annual tradition, believes an armadillo 鈥渒nows a whole lot more about what鈥檚 going on than some rodent.鈥�
Their ceremony also includes watching to see if the animal sees his shadow, but they aren鈥檛 opposed to improvising a little to make sure the crowd goes home happy. 鈥淎 lot of the times when it鈥檚 been kind of a crummy winter, we鈥檒l predict early spring no matter what,鈥� he said.
Phil鈥檚 accuracy rate is only 40%, according to the NOAA
Some well-meaning efforts have sought to determine Phil鈥檚 accuracy, but what 鈥渟ix weeks of winter鈥� means is debatable. By all accounts, the furry prognosticator predicts more winter far more often than he predicts an early spring.
And claims that a groundhog has or has not seen its shadow 鈥� and that it鈥檚 able to communicate that to a human 鈥� are also fair territory for skeptics and the humor-impaired.
Among the skeptics is the National Centers for Environmental Information, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The government agency last year with U.S. national temperatures over the prior decade and concluded he was right only 40% of the time.
Why Punxsutawney?
Punxsutawney is an area that Pennsylvania Germans settled 鈥� and in the late 1880s started celebrating the holiday by picnicking, hunting and eating groundhogs.
Members of Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, organized in 1899, care for Phil at a customized space beside Punxsutawney Memorial Library 鈥� where there鈥檚 a window with a view into the creature鈥檚 burrow.
Similar events take place throughout North America and beyond
The annual ritual at Gobbler鈥檚 Knob goes back more than a century, with ties to ancient farming traditions in Europe. Punxsutawney鈥檚 festivities have grown considerably since the 1993 movie 鈥淕roundhog Day,鈥� starring Bill Murray.
Groundhog Day falls on Feb. 2, the midpoint between the shortest, darkest day of the year on the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It鈥檚 a time of year that also figures in the Celtic calendar and the .
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