Punxsutawney Phil predicts six more weeks of winter
Temperatures are forecast to plunge across the Philadelphia region over the next few days, and Punxsutawney Phil expects more of the same for the next six weeks.
The nation’s most popular marmot saw his shadow Thursday morning after leaving his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney.
That means the country can expect below-average temperatures for the next six weeks, if you subscribe to the legend of Phil’s weather-predicting abilities.
Tens of thousands of groundhog enthusiasts gathered in the small Western Pennsylvania town in the early morning hours to watch the annual ceremony, hosted by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
Last year, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter by seeing his shadow.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration didn’t weigh in on the forecast’s accuracy, but according to an analysis of weather data by The Philadelphia Inquirer, the contiguous United States saw slightly above-average temperatures in February and early March, meaning Phil missed the mark.
Incorporating data from NOAA, that would mean Phil has been accurate just 40% of the time over the past 10 years, nailing his predictions in 2020, 2016, 2014, and 2013.
Since 1887, Phil and his predecessors have predicted more winter 105 times and called for 20 early springs, according to Stormfax Almanac (no
records exist for nine years). Live Science did an analysis of the data last year and concluded Phil’s six-week predictions have been correct just 39% of the time.
According to the Pennsylvania Tourism Office, Romans took the early Christian holiday Candlemas to Germany, where it was said that if there was enough sun on Candlemas Day for a badger to cast a shadow, there would be six more weeks of bad weather.
German immigrants brought this tradition to Pennsylvania, and in 1886 the editor of Punxsutawney’s newspaper teamed up with a group of groundhog hunters to begin the legend of Punxsutawney Phil’s weather prowess.
So in the United States and Canada, we celebrate Groundhog Day on the same date Christians across the globe celebrate Candlemas.
While Groundhog Day itself has been celebrated for more than a century, its namesake movie is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Director Harold Ramis
told the Hollywood Reporter shooting the film with Bill Murray was “difficult,” because a rift had formed between the duo that lasted two decades.
But that struggle on the set was nothing compared to the terror inflicted on Murray by his hairy costar, Scooter.
“A co-star that bites you once, well, I can accept that. But a co-star that bites you twice, well now, that’s a problem,” Murray said in a 1993 interview with The Inquirer, adding that the crew was banned from using the real Punxsutawney Phil while making the movie because it was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois, for logistical reasons.
“Phil was fabulous,” Murray recalled. “He’s treated like royalty and is very well-behaved. A true professional.
‘‘And so when they couldn’t get him — a creature who has been handraised since birth and is very tame — what did they do? They went out into the woods and caught this Scooter, a groundhog who hated my guts from day one.”