Groundhog Day 2017 — How Much Longer Will Winter Last?
Punxsutawney Phil has spoken.
The world's most famous groundhog gave his annual Groundhog Day weather prediction at 7:25 am Thursday morning (Feb. 2) in Punxsutawney, Pa. He saw his shadow, which, according to lore, means there will be six more weeks of winter.
That's pretty much right on par with what Phil usually predicts. Records show that he has said 102 times there will be more winter, while calling an early spring a mere 18 times.
Phil may have gone public with his prediction, but his contemporaries may not agree with him. Staten Island Chuck has forecast an early spring, as has Quebec's Fred la marmotte (although, to be fair, Quebec is nowhere near Pennsylvania, so they can certainly experience different weather).
Perhaps Phil would be wise to cozy up to Michigan's Woody the Woodchuck, who also predicts six more weeks of winter
Then again, maybe all these prognostications are hooey. Animals doing a weather forecast? That's almost as reliable as polls predicting who'll win the White House.