Punxsutawney Phil says spring is near

The cold weather and snowfall may soon come to an end, at least according to the region’s fluffiest weather predictor.

Prognosticating groundhog Punxsutawney Phil failed to see his shadow when he was abruptly woken from his sleep in Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania early Friday.

Had he seen it, that would have spelled six more weeks of winter, according to the world-famous, 132-year-old tradition.

Still, don’t get out the bathing suits just yet — Phil has only been accurate about 40% of the time over the past 100 years.

In fact, over the past decade, the wannabe meteorologist has only been right three times — in 2014, 2016 and 2020, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Yet Phil’s inaccurate predictions have not dissuaded loyal fans from gathering at Gobbler’s Knob each year, with more than 20,000 people huddling up annually to catch a glimpse of the furry prognosticator.

The annual ritual dates back to 1887, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. 

It has its origins in the Feb. 2 holiday of Candlemas in Europe, where Christians would take candles to a church to have them blessed.

A popular English folk song declared that winter will have “another flight” if conditions on Candlemas were fair and bright.

The song’s interpretation of the holiday became accepted throughout most of Europe until it reached Germany, where a hedgehog became part of the tradition, and a “second winter” would be expected if the animal saw its shadow on Candlemas.

“As German settlers came to what is now the United States, so too came their traditions and folklore,” Punxsutawney organizers said on its website. “With the absence of hedgehogs in the United States, a similar hibernating animal was chosen.”

A mention of Groundhog Day first appeared in a local Punxsutawney newspaper in 1886. The following year marked the first official event at Gobbler’s Knob, organizers said.

Now, over 20,000 adoring fans gather each year at the site to catch a glimpse of the Weather Prophet Extraordinaire as he makes his annual prediction.

“Today, Groundhog Day remains what it was when the tradition first came to our shores and found its way to Punxsutawney,” the group’s website reads. “A day to take everything a little less seriously, and break up the winter monotony … at least for a little while!”’

But Phil and New York’s own Staten Island Chuck are not the only critters who predicted the forecast this year.

Over in Oregon, zoo officials went back to the holiday’s roots and used a hedgehog, while residents in Texas are taking their weather advice from Bob the Armadillo.