Groundhog Day 2012
Yes, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow which means 6 more weeks of winter. The forecast from Punxsutawney Phil at the annual ceremony of Groundhog Day 2012 – “Many shadows do I see: six more weeks of winter it must be.”
Thousands of people that were gathered for the annual groundhog day event groaned when Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. An event that has some 15.000 to 18.000 people there to witness the furry creature’s prognostication ceremony at 7:30 a.m. EST. When the groundhog came from his burrow at dawn, it was only near freezing, which is above average for this time of year in Pennsylvania. Usually, the temperature is around 17 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle, Phil has seen his shadow 100 times and hasn’t seen it 16 times since 1886. In Groundhog Club’s records, Phil has predicted 99 long winters and 15 early springs, with nine years of records lost. Those predictions have been right only 39 percent of the time — 36 percent if you look at post-1969 predictions, when weather records are more accurate.
Tim Roche, a meteorologist at Weather Underground said: “If Punxsutawney Phil is right 39 percent of the time, that’s much, much worse than a climatological prediction. Even if you flip a coin, you’ll still be right close to half of the time. That’s a 50 percent accuracy rate. So you’ll be better off flipping a coin than going by the groundhog’s predictions.”
Still tradition lives on with Groundhogs day and Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from his burrow every Feb. 2 on the Christian holiday, Candlemas Day. All to celebrate a German superstition about hibernating animals casting shadows to predict winter.
Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.
It’s the time of year to find out how much longer winter will last this year, using the time honored tradition of answering the question: Did the groundhog see his shadow? In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the country waits each year to see whether or not a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil – not punksatony, or puxatony – will see his shadow.
As legend goes is Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter instead of an early spring. So here it is… for 2012 the groundhog did see his shadow.
So despite the recent unseasonably warm temperatures throughout much of the country this week, the cold temperatures will return if Phil’s predictions hold true.
For those still looking to get in a little more skiing and other winter fun, including the industries which rely on the cold temperatures – you should be in luck. However, while awaiting the results of Punxsutawney Phil’s shadow is a tradition, the famous groundhog’s predictions have only proved accurate a little more than one-third of the time.
In keeping with the times, Punxsutawney Phil and the predictions from the world’s most well known groundhog can be followed on Twitter, via text alerts, and of course Phil has a page on Facebook.
Punxsutawney Phil surprised witnesses Thursday morning when he saw his shadow – heralding another six weeks of winter.
But the premiere Groundhog Day prognosticator has competition, and this year he’s outnumbered.
Staten Island Chuck, biter of Mayor Bloomberg’s finger and arguably the second most famous holiday groundhog, did not see his shadow – which is not surprising. How can winter last six more weeks if it hasn’t even started yet? (Knock on wood).
Woodstock Willie, the mascot in the Illinois town where much of “Groundhog Day” the movie was filmed, did not see a shadow either.
Neither did Dunkirk Dave of Dunkirk, NY. Shubenacadie Sam of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. General Beauergard Lee of Atlanta, Ga. Wiarton Willie of Wiarton, Ontario.
So what makes Punxsutawney Phil the lone wolf of groundhogs? And who should we trust?
According to both ABC News and the Charlotte Observor, it’s not Phil at all who makes the prediction, but a group of tuxedo-wearing handlers who call themselves the Inner Circle. A Google search yielded an entry on Groundhog.org (which is no longer active) that appeared to deny this claim.
Mike Johnston, vice president of the Inner Circle, told ABC News that Punxsutawney Phil was “incapable of error.
“I guarantee you someone’s going to have six more weeks of winter” – he said.
We suppose the inverse can be said of the other six groundhogs. Everbody wins!
Speaking of Groundhog Day, here’s the trailer for the movie of the same name. Sure, we posted the same trailer in another story earlier today, but if there is every a day when we can get away with being redundant, it’s Groundhog Day.