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Friday is Groundhog Day! Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow?

If he sees his shadow, according to Folklore, it means there will be six more weeks of winter

By: Katie McGraw

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Friday, Feb. 2, is Groundhog Day! According to folklore, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, that means there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he doesn’t, it’s a forecast of an early spring. So, what will Phil likely predict tomorrow?

This is always a tough call - because he is a rodent, after all! In terms of the forecast, a cold front is sliding through the region and will bring an increase of clouds to Northeast Ohio as well as Pennsylvania. A few snow showers will be possible in the morning with temps in the 30s. The sun comes shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Friday in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and it looks like it will be cloudy to start the day off. This means Phil should not see his shadow tomorrow.

However! This furry forecaster loves predicting more winter. In the 137 years he has been predicting the seasonal changes, Phil has seen his shadow 107 times. That is 78% of the time! Punxsutawney Phil <3 Winter.

So, if I was a betting woman, I would bet on his past predictions rather than the forecast in Pennsylvania because it is more likely that he will see his shadow. I have heard that because Gobbler's Knob is so popular on Groundhog Day, Phil sees his shadow more often than not because of all the cameras and lights nearby rather than the sun being out and shining.

It is also important to remember Phil is not very accurate and this is all for fun! According to NOAA, in the last ten years, Phil has been right about 40% of the time. This is based on whether the temperatures were above or below average in February and March. Either way, spring will officially start on March 19!