Punxsutawney Phil Forecasts Early Spring at Groundhog Day Festivities: The year Punxsutawney In Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, the location of the most sizable and renowned Groundhog Day celebration in the United States, Phil foretold an early spring Friday.
Phil’s handlers, who are members of a late 19th-century society, reveal whether the groundhog has seen their shadow during an annual humorous ritual.
The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club announced Friday morning that Phil did not see his shadow, indicating spring-like weather. The group claims that the groundhog observing his shadow foretells the arrival of six additional weeks of winter.
Groundhog Day 2023: Date, History, Did the Groundhog see his shadow?
In recent years, 10,000 people have gone to Punxsutawney for midnight celebrations and the midwinter forecast. A bundled-up audience, some wearing groundhog caps, watched fireworks and music while waiting for Lucky Phil.
Before Phil, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro addressed the crowd and urged viewers from around the globe to visit Punxsutawney the following year. Shapiro further declared the renowned groundhog to be Pennsylvania’s new official meteorologist.
“Punxsutawney is the center of the universe right now and I love that you’re all here,” Shapiro commented.
Although Phil forecasts winter far more frequently than early spring, this is still a favorable prediction for February and March in western Pennsylvania. A federal agency estimated his accuracy rate to be around 40% after reviewing his record from the previous year.
European farmers have celebrated the halfway point between the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the spring equinox for millennia.
Pennsylvania is home to over a dozen active groundhog organizations, some of which have existed since the 1930s. Groundhogs that provide weather forecasts have been spotted in a minimum of 28 U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
The 1993 blockbuster film “Groundhog Day,” which featured Bill Murray, generated widespread interest in Punxsutawney Phil and stimulated informal observations.
Phil resides in a special enclosure outside the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, where a window lets people watch his burrow. Phil had escaped three times in 2009 by scaling the library ceiling and plunging into offices 50 feet (15 meters) away, according to library employees. He remained unharmed.
