Punxsutawney Phil Sees Shadow, but What Does Competition Say?

German settlers in the Punxsutawney region brought with them a holiday known as Candlemas Day, often on February 2, which is the mid-point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox – or six weeks after winter begins and six weeks before spring starts. “Phil! Phil!” two top-hatted Inner Circle members led the raising of an illuminated fiberglass Punxsutawney Phil to mark the official arrival of Groundhog Day.

The results of Groundhog Day 2018 are in: According to legend, we’re in for six more weeks of winter because Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow.

Sadly, it’s not looking like the Buckeye state will see an early spring.

Phil, the world’s most famous groundhog, lives a pretty charmed life.

The groundhog’s handler, however, maintains that Phil’s predictions are always “100 percent correct”.

But the accuracy of this annual forecast is dubious, as the prediction is made by a groundhog.

It’s because when people mention “Groundhog Day”, they’re not talking about the holiday, they’re talking about the movie.

According to information compiled by the National Centers for Environmental Information, Phil has struggled in recent years to accurately predict the weather. Oddly, if the weather is cloudy and he doesn’t see his shadow, we can expect warmer temperatures and an early spring. The first celebrations of Groundhog Day were seen in Pennsylvania’s German communities, with the first record of a Groundhog Day like celebration coming from 1840.

As we await this year’s forecast, here are some fun facts about Groundhog Day, its weird roots, and how it has evolved into the tradition we know today.

However, if people can make it down to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania-located about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh-they can watch the groundhog do his thing via live stream at 6 a.m. ET. One sip gives Phil another seven years. The event has roots from ancient Christian tradition of Candelmas, as clergy used candles to determine how much longer winter would be.

Punxsutawney Phil’s handlers are set to announce at sunrise Friday what kind of weather they say the rodent is predicting for the rest of winter. Since 1988, the groundhog was “right” 14 times and “wrong” 16 times.