Punxsutawney Phil makes Groundhog Day prediction

Thursday, February 2, 2023 4:02PM

Groundhog handler AJ Derume holds Punxsutawney Phil, who saw his shadow, predicting a late spring during the 136th annual Groundhog Day festivities on Feb. 2, 2023 in Punxsutawney, Penn.

ABCNews

Punxsutawney Phil, Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog, awoke this morning to see his shadow which means that — according to legend — there will be six more weeks of winter.

Legend has it that if he sees his shadow then winter will continue for another six weeks but if Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow spring will come early.

Phil’s prediction comes as parts of the county are being slammed with cripplingly cold temperatures and ice.

Phil’s actual prediction takes place ahead of time in a place called Gobbler’s Knob, a small hill just outside of the town, and has done so each year since 1887. This year marks the 137th time the event has occurred, according to the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.

The men in top hats surrounding Phil during the ceremony are members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle. According to their website, their role is to “protect and perpetuate the legend of the great weather-predicting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.”

Phil’s predictions have been fairly even over the past decade or so. From 2015 to 2020, the groundhog predicting a longer winter three times and an early spring three times. But overall, dating back to 1887, according to the Associated Press, Phil has predicted six more weeks of winter more than 100 times.

In fact, Punxsutawney Phil has now predicted six more weeks of winter 107 times and an early spring only 20 times — with no record of 10 of those years since 1887, according to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In the 10 years from 2013 to 2022, Punxsutawney Phil has actually been even less accurate that flipping a coin with this weather predictions. He has been right just four times in that period — 2020, 2016, 2014 and 2013 — and was incorrect in the six remaining years in the last decade.

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