Overview
- At daybreak in Gobbler’s Knob, handlers declared Phil saw his shadow, the folklore signal for six additional weeks of winter.
- Organizers scrapped onstage photo ops and kept Phil’s outdoor time brief because of extreme cold, as tens of thousands turned out despite single-digit temperatures.
- AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok said the East should run colder than average next week, aligning with current short‑term chill.
- NOAA analyses and other reviews put Phil’s long‑term accuracy near 35–40 percent, reinforcing that the event is cultural rather than a reliable forecast.
- Widespread winter weather has recently brought snow, ice and dangerous cold across multiple regions, and some Groundhog Day observances adjusted plans or went virtual, including Staten Island Chuck’s event.