Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his stump at Gobbler’s Knob Sunday morning as thousands waited to see if the groundhog would see his shadow.
Phil saw his shadow, which he believes to be an omen of six more weeks of winter. Here’s how his prediction went down.
Crowds of Phil fanatics gathered early Sunday morning for the 139th Groundhog Day, waiting for the Prognosticator of Prognosticators to make his prediction. The ceremony began at 6 a.m., but shuttles began busing people to Gobbler’s Knob hours before.
Legend has it that if he sees his shadow then winter will continue for another six weeks but if Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow spring will come early.
After the crowd was pumped up, the Inner Circle — the guys in the top hats and tuxes — arrived at Gobbler’s Knob around 7 a.m. as part of their annual trek. The Inner Circle includes Phil’s handler and the only man who can speak Groundhogese, president Tom Dunkel.
With his cane, which he claims allows him to talk to Phil, Dunkel knocked on the burrow door. It took a few seconds to pull a seemingly reluctant Phil out of his stump, then he was lifted up high for all to see.
Phil was placed on top of his stump, where he discussed his prediction to Dunkel. A scroll was selected and unrolled with a flourish.
“What a way to start a Sunday which turned out to be a fun day. You always said you’d make it here one day, to this place barely big enough, to this sweet Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania,” the scroll began. “We’re all here with the elements combined where Mother Nature meets Father Time. To hear the truth, are those gray skies?”
Then came Phil’s prediction.
“It’s Groundhog Day and maybe life is on a loop, but I miss my burrow, I miss my coop. So I’m heading back down, there’s a shadow up here. Get ready for six more weeks of winter this year.”
Phil’s prediction was met with a roar from the crowd, with a mix of cheering and booing.
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.
DAVFLY 