Pennsylvania Groundhog Phil Predicts When Spring Will Come to the US

Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog from Pennsylvania, saw his shadow on February 2 and predicted six more weeks of winter weather, writes Associated Press.

Photo: Karen Foley | Dreamstime.com

Phil was greeted with cheers and pulled out of his tree stump hole shortly after sunrise. A member of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club then read a scroll in which Phil declared, "Only I know that artificial intelligence cannot be trusted."

Groundhog weather forecasting is an annual ritual that dates back more than a century in western Pennsylvania and has its roots in European folklore. But it was the 1993 film Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray that brought the event to the attention of tens of thousands of viewers and imitators not only in the United States but around the world.

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It is generally accepted that if Phil does not see his shadow, it foretells an early spring. If he does see his shadow, it means that winter will last another six weeks.

Fireworks, confetti, and live music (from the Ramones to the Pennsylvania Polka) entertained the crowd as they waited for the sun to rise and Phil to appear. Dignitaries in attendance included Governor Josh Shapiro, local and federal officials, and two beauty pageant winners.

New York gingerbread maker John Lovich has been attending the event for 33 years.

"I like the cold, and this is probably the best and biggest winter party in the world," Lovich admitted.

Phil predicted a long winter far more often than an early spring, and one study found he was right less than half the time. What exactly "six more weeks of winter" means is a subjective matter.

Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Tom Dunkel said there are two types of people who come to Gobbler's Knob: Phil believers and skeptics who want to prove they are right.

Phil relayed his prediction to Dunkel in "groundhog language" using a special cane that Dunkel had inherited as the club's leader. This does not mean the groundhog speaks English.

"He might wink, purr, chatter or nod," he explained.

The event was free to attend, but for $5 you could take a bus and avoid the mile-long hike from downtown to the site, which is about 120 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The need for so many buses is one reason local schools close when Groundhog Day falls on a weekday.

Keith Post, his wife and a friend had been watching the movie Groundhog Day for five years straight and finally decided it was time to make the trip from Ohio to see it for themselves.

"We booked the rooms almost a year in advance, and here we are," Post said.

A new visitors' center opened four years ago, and the club is working on creating a second, larger home for Phil and his family so they can spend time both at Gobbler's Knob and at Phil's old home at the Punxsutawney City Library.

In addition, this year they installed larger video screens and more powerful speakers so that spectators further from the stage could follow the action.

"It's a holiday where you don't owe anyone anything," said A.J. Dereum, one of the club's 15 inner circle members who acts as Phil's caretaker and lifted him to loud applause Sunday. "You just believe in something that's fun to believe in."

After the prediction, the club members and Phil posed for a photo shoot with the guests.

Phil has a wife, Punxsutawney Phyllis, and two babies born this spring: Shadow and Sunny. However, his family did not join him on stage for the big event. The family eats fruits and vegetables and gets a veterinarian checkup once a year.

According to club lore, Phil is the same groundhog who has been making predictions for a century. It's just that the "elixir of life" makes him immortal.

"There's only one Phil, and his responsibilities can't be delegated to anyone else," Dunkel said. "Like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, he's the only one."

Groundhog Day events were held in at least 28 U.S. states and Canadian provinces. In Pennsylvania, groundhogs predicted an extended winter in Mount Joy, Dover, York, Lebanon County, and the municipality of Manheim in Lancaster County. However, at the Sleeping Groundhog Lodge in Quarryville, their relative Octoraro Orfi predicted an early spring.

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In Georgia, about 80 miles southeast of Atlanta, groundhog General Beaufort Lee saw his shadow, his keepers declared, meaning six more weeks of winter. At a wildlife park in Nova Scotia, Canada, groundhog Shubenacadie Sam is also said to have seen her shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.

Meanwhile, Persephone, the Newport Aquarium's fortune teller iguana, made her own annual Groundhog Day prediction. On Sunday morning, Persephone decided to eat her morning salad from a bowl labeled "6 Weeks of Winter."

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