Punxsutawney Phil forecasting more winter weather on Groundhogs Day in 1963. (Photo Courtesy: Nationalgeographic.com)

By K.P. Sander

On Mon., Feb. 2, Groundhogs Day will cast its shadow in America, and we shall see if an early spring is in our forecast.

According to folklore – and Wikipedia – on this particular winter day, if a groundhog emerges from its warm and cozy burrow to find a cloudy sky, then spring will quickly be on its way.  Conversely, if the sun is shining and the groundhog sees its shadow, it will retreat back underground to hunker down for another six weeks of winter weather.

One of the most prominent celebrations in the U.S. happens each year in Gobbler’s Knob, the home of celebrity groundhog, Phil, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where crowds as large as 40,000 have gathered for the celebration since 1886.  Made famous in the 1993 film, Groundhogs Day, Punxsutawney Phil keeps folks from near and far on tenterhooks as he emerges to tell the weather’s fortune early in the morning on Feb. 2 (this year’s forecast is a high of 21° – a low of 2° – with snow showers).  Most Punxsutawnians are probably hoping for no shadow.

Punxsutawney Phil – a whopping 129 years old – is taken care of year-round by a very select group called the “Inner Circle.”  They are widely recognized by their top hats and tuxedos, and they make sure that Phil has everything he needs to thrive happily.  From his allegedly heated, synthetic tree staged for the annual celebration, to the magical elixir (providing another seven years of life) he drinks each summer at the Groundhog Picnic – never mind that the average groundhog lives about seven years – the Inner Circle takes very good care of its charge.

Interestingly enough, the fuzzy prognosticator has an astonishingly high rate of accuracy in his meteorological forecasts – so say Groundhog’s Day organizers.  Weather Almanacs are not as flattering, stating that Phil’s predictions since 1887 are more around the 39% mark.  Still respectable…for a rodent.