GROUNDHOG day has been observed in Pennsylvania for over 100 years.
Each year people look to the famous groundhog to determine how much longer winter will be.
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What is Groundhog Day?
According to lore, if the groundhog emerges from his burrow on February 2 and sees his shadow, he will be frightened back into his hole.
This signals another six weeks of a chilly winter.
But a cloudy day – and no shadow of himself – means winter will end early, as spring is not too far away.
Groundhog Day features a bucktoothed rodent named Punxsutawney Phil.
Before a large crowd chanting “Phil, Phil, Phil” in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, about 80miles (129km) northeast of Pittsburgh, the groundhog delivers his annual season prediction just after sunrise.
more on groundhog day
For February 2022 Chief Meteorologist Joe Murgo and Anchor Jordan Tracy will be at Gobbler’s Knob live on Feb. 2 for WTAJ’s special Groundhog Day: Out of the Shadows.
The livestream will begin around 7am ET on Wednesday, February. 2, 2022.
What did Punxsutawney Phil predict in 2021?
Punxsutawney Phil told his virtual audience back in February of 2021 that Spring was delayed.
At the February 2, 2021, live prognostication (prophesying future event), he was carefully removed from his cosy straw bed inside a specially prepared log.
Jeff Lundy – president of the Groundhog Club and “pal” of Punxsutawney Phil – “spoke” with the furry soothsayer at about 7.25am.
What’s a groundhog?
Woodchuck and groundhog are names for the same rodent, the Marmota monax.
Related to the squirrel, they eat mainly green plants like dandelion, clover and grasses.
Punxsutawney Phil weighs 20 pounds (9 kg) and is 22 inches long.
Like many animals, groundhogs hibernate during winter.
They often emerge from their underground burrows in early February, when Groundhog Day is marked.
Although groundhogs live for six to eight years, legend has it that Phil, who is named after King Philip, has been making predictions for over a century thanks to a magic elixir that he drinks every summer to get seven more years of life.
Phil was taken out of his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and after observing the weather conditions and looking for his shadow, Phil made his prediction for the remainder of winter – which Lundy “translated.”
Reading from a scroll, the virtual audience was told: “The prediction says… there’s a perfect shadow cast of me, six more weeks of winter there will be.”
Data analyst and violinist Aubrey Saloka had asked the Groundhog Club on Twitter: “Can we ask Phil to predict the end of Covid instead?”
When is Groundhog Day?
Groundhog Day is held on February 2 every year, the tradition dates back to 1886.
The event traditionally sees 40,000-strong crowds gather on a small hill known as Gobbler’s Knob for the festivities in Pennsylvania.
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But in 2021, because of the rampant coronavirus pandemic, organizers said that no visitors could attend the spectacle.
They explained: “The health and safety of our faithful followers and everyone associated with Phil’s prognostication has been our number one priority.
“It has been determined that there will not be any in person attendance or guests on the grounds as the potential Covid risks to overcome are too great.”
Furry forecaster Punxsutawney Phil usually makes his grand appearance after leaving his burrow at about 7.25am (ET) on February 2.
The tradition has been going since 1886, but it is an observance, not a public holiday in the United States.
The groundhog tradition stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day and the days of early Christians in Europe.
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