Punxsutawney Phil Sees His Shadow, Forecasts Six More Weeks of Winter

Overview

• Handlers at Gobbler’s Knob declared the shadow after Phil’s pre-dawn emergence, delivering the folklore forecast via an official scroll.
• Punxsutawney Groundhog Club vice president Dan McGinley read Phil’s message indicating six more weeks of winter.
• Tens of thousands gathered in frigid conditions for the century-old ceremony, which was also streamed to a wide audience.
• NOAA and its National Centers for Environmental Information put Phil’s accuracy at about 40% in recent analyses, underscoring the event’s cultural rather than scientific nature.
• AccuWeather’s Paul Pastelok expects below-average temperatures in the eastern U.S. this week, independent of the groundhog’s call.