PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA. — Will we have an early spring, or will winter stretch on until mid-March? According to Groundhog Phil, the world's most famous furry forecaster, there are six more weeks of winter ahead this year.
Phil saw his shadow at around 7:25 a.m. this morning in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pa., Sunday, amidst mostly overcast skies and temperatures in the mid-30s. Thousands of revelers showed up for the folksy celebration.
According to legend, if it's cloudy when the groundhog emerges, Phil will leave his burrow, signifying that winter will end soon. If it's sunny out, the groundhog will supposedly see his shadow and, frightened, retreat back into his burrow while winter drags on for six more weeks.
(MORE: These Oddly Colored Animals Make You Do a Double-Take)
The tradition is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last six more weeks.
Before the event, organizers said the odds of Phil seeing his shadow were good. The groundhog had seen his shadow 100 times, and hasn't seen it just 17 times, according to the Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, the top-hatted gents who handle the animal and translate his forecast. There are no records from many of the early years.
Interestingly, the event also marked the first time Groundhog Day and the Super Bowl fell on the same day. The closest the game previously came to coinciding with Groundhog Day was in 2009, when the just-down-the-road Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in the Super Bowl, the night before Phil's forecast.
Sunday night's game featuring the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., will be the Super Bowl's 48th installment, while Phil has been predicting the weather since 1886.
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Phil saw his shadow at around 7:25 a.m. this morning in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pa., Sunday, amidst mostly overcast skies and temperatures in the mid-30s. Thousands of revelers showed up for the folksy celebration.
According to legend, if it's cloudy when the groundhog emerges, Phil will leave his burrow, signifying that winter will end soon. If it's sunny out, the groundhog will supposedly see his shadow and, frightened, retreat back into his burrow while winter drags on for six more weeks.
(MORE: These Oddly Colored Animals Make You Do a Double-Take)
The tradition is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last six more weeks.
Before the event, organizers said the odds of Phil seeing his shadow were good. The groundhog had seen his shadow 100 times, and hasn't seen it just 17 times, according to the Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, the top-hatted gents who handle the animal and translate his forecast. There are no records from many of the early years.
Interestingly, the event also marked the first time Groundhog Day and the Super Bowl fell on the same day. The closest the game previously came to coinciding with Groundhog Day was in 2009, when the just-down-the-road Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in the Super Bowl, the night before Phil's forecast.
Sunday night's game featuring the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., will be the Super Bowl's 48th installment, while Phil has been predicting the weather since 1886.
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