Phil, the world’s most famous groundhog, saw his shadow on Sunday.
Punxsutawney Phil woke up on Sunday and saw his shadow, meaning we are destined for six more weeks of winter, according to legend.
Legend has it that if Punxsutawney Phil, perhaps the world’s most famous groundhog, sees his shadow then winter will continue for another six weeks, but if he does’t see his shadow spring will come early.
The weather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, during the announcement was partly cloudy with temperatures hovering at about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Snow was expected later on Sunday.
Phil’s actual prediction, however, 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 139th 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 predicted 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 21 times — with no record of 10 of those years since 1887, according to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Ultimately, Punxsutawney Phil’s “predictions” should really be taken with a grain of salt.
In the 10 annual predictions from 2013 to 2022, Punxsutawney Phil was less accurate with his weather predications than flipping a coin would have been. He was right four times in that period — 2020, 2016, 2014 and 2013 — and was incorrect in the six other instances.
