Punxsutawney Phil’s winter weather forecast will be released sometime after sunrise Friday at Gobbler’s Knob, home of the nation’s largest and most famous Groundhog Day celebration.
annual event This leaves Phil’s handlers, members of a club with roots in the late 19th century, wondering if the groundhog has seen his shadow (heralding six more weeks of winter weather) or if he hasn’t seen it yet. It is an ironic ritual that reveals the early spring-like weather.
About 10,000 people have visited Punxsutawney in recent years. There, festivities begin at midnight and culminate with midwinter forecast.
Phil is much more likely to predict winter coming than early spring, and February and March in western Pennsylvania aren’t bad forecasts.
Federal agencies investigated his records last year and uncovered his records. Correct answer rate At about 40%.
The tradition of celebrating the shortest day of the year, halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, dates back centuries to European farm life.
There are more than a dozen active groundhog clubs in Pennsylvania, some dating back to the 1930s, and weather-predicting groundhogs have appeared in at least 28 U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
The 1993 blockbuster movie “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray, sparked interest in Punxsutawney Phil and prompted widespread informal observation.
When Phil is not giving his annual prophecies, he lives in a customized space on the side of the Punxsutawney Memorial Library, complete with a window that allows library patrons to check out his den.
Back in 2009, library staff said Phil somehow escaped three times, climbing onto the ceiling of the library and falling into an office about 50 feet away. He wasn’t hurt.
