Groundhog Day prediction is six more weeks of winter then ‘beautiful’ spring

There will be six more weeks of winter, Punxsutawney Phil predicted as he emerged from his burrow on a snowy Tuesday morning to perform his Groundhog Day duties.

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Members of Phil’s “inner circle” woke the groundhog at 7.25am at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see if he would see his shadow.

Shortly after this year’s prediction was revealed, one of the members of the inner circle shared a message he said Phil had imparted: “After winter, you’re looking forward to one of the most beautiful and brightest springs you’ve ever seen.”

Another member of the “inner circle” noted the uniqueness of the past year.

“People have been referencing Groundhog Day,” the member said. “It has felt like at times we’re all living the same day over and over again. Groundhog Day also shows us that the monotony ends. The cycle will be broken.

“Today actually is Groundhog Day, there’s only one. There is quite literally a new day coming over the horizon.”

The spectacle that is Groundhog Day still went on, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, revelers were not able to see Phil and celebrate in person. It was all virtual and included cardboard cutouts to represent spectators.

A live stream, which had more than 15,000 viewers at one point, played footage from previous Groundhog Days ahead of the big reveal. Then, of course, the prognosticator of prognosticators emerged at dawn. The lore goes that if the groundhog sees his shadow, as he did this year, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, spring comes early.

Wearing top hats, members of the club summoned Phil from a new tree stump.

“You look beautiful,” the club president, Jeff Lundy, told Phil, who directed members to one of two scrolls.

A club member announced, “We have all passed through the darkness of night, but now see hope in morning’s bright light. But now when I turn to see, there’s a perfect shadow cast of me.”

The live stream from Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill just outside Punxsutawney about 65 miles north-east of Pittsburgh, is made possible by the Pennsylvania Tourism Office. The event there – always on 2 February – dates to 1887.

This year, as in many years in the past, Phil gave his forecast during a major snowstorm.

The annual event has its origin in a German legend about a furry rodent. Records show Phil has predicted longer winters more than 100 times. The 2020 forecast predicted an early spring – however, Phil didn’t say anything about a pandemic. Phil has predicted winter 106 times and spring 20 times, the club said. Ten years were lost because no records were kept.

Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog seer but he is certainly not the only one. There are two high-profile “impostors”, as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club calls them, in the region.

Staten Island Chuck will be asked for his prophesy at around 8am at the Staten Island Zoo in New York. That event was to be streamed on Facebook since the zoo is closed.

Also without fanfare, Chuckles, Connecticut’s official state groundhog, will make a prediction from home: the Lutz Children’s Museum in Manchester. That will also be streamed on Facebook. Chuckles X died in September, and it remains to be seen whether an anointed Chuckles XI will emerge on Tuesday.