As I get older, I appreciate much of the weirdness of American culture, from Santa Trackers to Steve Kornacki’s khakis to the inexplicable obsession with Gritty to our collective delusion in a groundhog predicting the weather. We just decide that these are real things and we enjoy them annually, for better or for worse. Today is Groundhog Day and that c–ksucker Punxsutawney Phil saw his motherf–king shadow. Meaning, there will be six more weeks of winter.
Punxsutawney Phil – the legendary groundhog weather watcher – woke up and saw his shadow Thursday morning, calling for six more weeks of winter.
Each February 2, on Groundhog Day, the members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club make the pilgrimage to Gobbler’s Knob, Phil’s official home.
The group waits for Phil to leave his burrow and, legend has it, if he sees his shadow we’re in for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, we get to bask in an early spring.
Scientifically speaking, winter will officially come to an end on the equinox on March 20, regardless of what Phil predicts. But Mother Nature doesn’t always follow the timetable, and neither does Phil. Though Phil has no meteorology degree, every year the United States tunes in for his prediction.
Phil’s track record is not perfect. “On average, Phil has gotten it right 40% of the time over the past 10 years,” according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which manages “one of the largest archives of atmospheric, coastal, geophysical, and oceanic research in the world.”
Here in the mid-Atlantic, we’ve had a somewhat mild winter. We had the bomb cyclone earlier than usual, when it was like 10 degrees for days before Christmas, but January was either mild or normal-cold. That being said, it’s snowing today! It’s our first snow of the year, on Groundhog Day. And I know a large swath of the country has had ice and snow this week. February is always brutal, and I totally believe we’re going to have six more weeks of this sh-t.
Aren’t you flabbergasted that this many people still come out in the dead of winter to worship a weather-predicting groundhog at a place called Gobbler’s Knob? It’s amazing and terrible. Try to explain it to foreigners.
Phil has spoken! He saw his shadow, which means…
SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER! ❄️
What are your thoughts on his prediction? We couldn't be more grateful to be celebrating #GroundhogDay yet again with the wonderful people of Punxsutawney and visitors from across the world 🌎💙 pic.twitter.com/DfXYr7yLIL
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) February 2, 2023
Photos courtesy of Getty.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcWhiboR1e8%2BupbGrpamuuLrEspapoJmhrLSt1pifoquPqLWisM6wlq2glaeyoMPIpaOYmpWUwKrEvqamq52PrLKmt9KYpp%2BXp567tbHRaA%3D%3D