Punxsutawney Phil predicts six more weeks of winter

By Ethan Jaffri, Asst. News Editor 

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this past Monday, meaning that there will be six more weeks of winter weather. More winter weather should come as no surprise to the northeast region and the greater United States, as more than half of the country’s population was impacted by last week’s winter storm. Below-average temperatures are expected to continue in the week following the prediction, reports AP News. The weather forecast for the rest of the winter season is predicted on a site called Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. Locations nationwide have similar festivities with groundhogs, dogs or possums. 

The date of Groundhog Day is the “midpoint between the shortest, darkest day of the winter solstice and the spring equinox,” according to AP News. This date also falls on the Christian holiday of Candlemas Day, which is the blessing of candles. Roots of the Candlemas Day holiday claim that a “second winter” would take place if a hedgehog saw its shadow, and when German settlers immigrated to Pennsylvania, they replaced the tradition with groundhogs. 

Groundhog Day is not only a holiday, but a movie as well. “Groundhog Day” is a 1993 movie in which Bill Murray plays Pittsburgh meteorologist Phil Connors. Murray relives the day of himself reporting the Groundhog Day holiday every day until he is able to break the cycle. 

Despite the long history of this holiday tradition, there is a question of whether its prediction is accurate. In the past 10 years, the Groundhog Day forecast has only been 40% accurate, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Regardless of the validity of its traditions, Groundhog Day is a time for people to come together as they await the spring season. Pennsylvania's secretary of community and economic development, Rick Siger, calls the holiday “just fun” adding that it is “folks having a good time.”