Groundhogs differ on winter outlook this year
Feb 2, 2012, 9:00 AM | Updated: Oct 14, 2024, 11:17 am
Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his lair to “see” his shadow on Thursday, in the process predicting six more weeks of winter.
>>See photo gallery of Phil’s prognostication event
But The LA Times reports other groundhogs are making different predictions.
Staten Island Chuck predicted an early spring Thursday morning, and CBS reports Woodstock Willie also came in predicting an early end to winter.
(Staten Island Chuck is held with gloves because he’s a biter. Image-SILive.com)
The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early.
Listen to Ross & Burbank Theater: Reenacting Groundhog Day
Phil has now seen his shadow 100 times and hasn’t seen it just 16 times since 1886, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle, which runs the event. There are no records for the remaining years.
While there are records of Phil’s predictions dating back to 1886, what it doesn’t have is a tally of whether Phil was right.
Who do you think is right this year?
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
