Phil sees shadow; six more weeks of winter
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Groundhog Club handler John Griffiths holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 126th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob. -
Fred Unger of York, Pa., waits in the early morning on Gobbler's Knob for weather prognosticating groundhog Punxsutawney Phil to appear.
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There will be six more weeks of winter, Punxsutawney Phil said this morning.
The prognosticating groundhog saw his shadow around sunrise, meaning winter -- or such as it has been this year -- will continue for six more weeks.
Organizers said as many as 18,000 turned out before sunrise in the Jefferson County community for the annual Groundhog Day celebration. The festival 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 another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early.
Before today, Phil had seen his shadow 99 times and hadn't seen it 16 times since 1886, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, which runs the event. There are no records for the remaining years.
The Associated Press contributed.
First Published February 2, 2012 7:28 am
