Groundhog Day – Punxsutawney Phil – Forecasts and Climate History

Groundhog Club co-handler John Griffiths holds Punxsutawney Phil during the annual celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016.

“Punxsutawney Phil, the seer of seers, the prognosticator of all prognosticators, was awakened from his burrow to the cheers of his thousands of faithful followers”, the man continued. The prosecuting attorney in Butler County, Ohio, went so far as to seek the death penalty for Phil for “misrepresentation of early spring”. Fortunately for the devoted fans of Punxsutawney Phil can watch a free online live stream available at visitpa.com, and you can see the live coverage of his 2016 winter weather prediction!

For some reason, people in North America look to the groundhog for its forecast in early February every year. If no shadow was seen, legend says spring would come early.

Groundhog Day history tells us if the groundhog sees his shadow, he takes it as an omen of six more weeks of winter and returns to his hole.

The roots of Groundhog Day go back to medieval Europe, and were brought to the United States when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania in the 1800s, bringing their traditions with them.

Records dating to 1887 show Phil has predicted more winter 102 times, while forecasting an early spring just 18 times. Nine years are missing from the record, but Phil has issued a forecast without exception. There’s always Staten Island Chuck in NY and General Beau Lee in Georgia – both of whom concur with Phil. That’s enough to make up what some would call a repetition of groundhogs (which is evidently the collective noun for the animals, although that seems a bit too cute). The two woodchucks don’t always agree, which isn’t totally a surprise, given that one lives in Pennsylvania and the other in NY.

A German legend has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow on February 2, winter will last an additional six weeks.

But here in northern OH we have Buckeye Chuck in Marion.

You can expect more warm weather, Potomac Phil says this Groundhog Day.