On February 2, Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog a Pennsylvania town has been using to predict when the season will turn from Winter to Spring since 1886, has provided his answer for 2024.
The lore goes that if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. And if he doesn’t see his shadow, spring will be here early.
@aerodragon punxi Phil #geoundhogday #gobblersknob #punxsutawneyphil ♬ original sound – Thomas D'Orsi
“We have 6,000 people that live here and it swells to 20 or 30,000,” Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce President Katie Laska told WTAE. “You can just imagine the impact that it has on our economy here.”
And as the thousands of people stood, waiting in anticipation, Phil made a prediction he doesn’t often make. The groundhog did not see his shadow, meaning spring will hopefully be here sooner rather than later.
According to WTAE, even with 10 years of prediction records lost, Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow more than 100 times over the last 137 years. Making this prediction a rare one and one a lot of people are excited about.
So there you have it! Winter is out, spring is in! Let’s home Mr. Groundhog is right!