Punxsutawney Phil predicts six more weeks of winter during Groundhog Day celebration
the legendary groundhog weather watcher woke up and saw his shadow Thursday morning, calling for six more weeks of winter.
Each February 2, on Groundhog Day, the members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club make the pilgrimage to Gobbler's Knob, Phil's official home.
The group waits for Phil to leave his burrow and, legend has it, if he sees his shadow we're in for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't, we get to bask in an early spring.
Scientifically speaking, winter will officially come to an end on the equinox on March 20, regardless of what Phil predicts. But Mother Nature doesn't always follow the timetable, and neither does Phil.
Though Phil has no meteorology degree, every year the United States tunes in for his prediction.
PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA, USA - FEBRUARY 2: Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Tuesday morning 6 more weeks of winter during Groundhog Day celebration at the Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, United States on February 2, 2022. Punxsutawney Groundhog Club established in 1887 as members believe that groundhogs predict the weather.
The bizarre history of Groundhog Day
Phil's track record is not perfect. “On average, Phil has gotten it right 40% of the time over the past 10 years,” according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which manages “one of the largest archives of atmospheric , coastal, geophysical, and oceanic research in the world.”
