Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, predicts 6 more weeks of winter
Prediction made at Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, Pa.
It looks like the Nor’easter gave it away.
Punxsutawney Phil has emerged from his snowy burrow Tuesday morning to predict six more weeks of winter on this Groundhog Day.
The popular occurrence, which normally draws a raucous crowd to Punxsutawney, Pa., was live-streamed this year without an attendance because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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"It’s a beautiful morning, this I can see, with all my fans viewing virtually. My faithful followers being safe and secure, our tradition of Groundhog Day must endure," read a prediction scroll chosen by Phil after he was awoken from his slumber at 7:25 a.m.
Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, as Vice President Tom Dunkel reads the scroll during the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. , on Tuesday. (AP)
"We have all passed through the darkness of night, but now see hope in morning’s bright light," it continued. "But now when I turn to see, there is a perfect shadow cast me of me. Six more weeks of winter there will be!"
Phil made his forecast as the flakes continued to fall in Punxsutawney Tuesday. Besides the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle, only cardboard cutouts of spectators were there to witness his prognostication.
"This year is different. Gobbler’s Knob is empty. But the tradition continues, there will always be a Groundhog Day. It is something you cannot cancel," said the club’s president, Jeff Lundy, adding that Phil was in "good spirits" and also "a few pounds heavier sure, but we all are."
The live stream began with a video skit of a father excited to take his family to Gobbler’s Knob this year to see the event in-person.
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Cardboard cutouts of groundhog enthusiasts decorate Gobbler's Knob on Tuesday. No crowd was allowed to attend this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP)
However, once he pulled up at its entrance, he was met with a groundhog statue holding a stop sign and a note that it was closed to the public this time because of the coronavirus.
"Now what?" one of his daughters asked as the father got frustrated.
"I think we should social distance from dad for a while," the other child quipped.
"What a year," their mother then said, letting out a sigh.
The annual event has its origin in a German legend about a furry rodent. Records dating to the late 1800s show Phil has predicted longer winters more than 100 times. The 2020 forecast called for an early spring — however, Phil didn't say anything about a pandemic.
Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog seer but he's certainly not the only one. There are two other high-profile "imposters," as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club calls them, in the region.
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Connecticut marked Groundhog Day with a hedgehog making the prediction after the state’s official groundhog, Chuckles X, died last year. Like Phil, Phoebe predicted another six weeks of winter after seeing its shadow at the Lutz Children’s Museum in Manchester.
New York City’s Staten Island Chuck disagreed, predicting an early spring in a video shown on the Staten Island Zoo’s Facebook page. That event drew headlines in 2014 when Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped the groundhog.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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