Should you plan for an early spring or six more weeks of winter? It depends upon whom you believe.
If you’re a fan of Punxsutawney Phil, the most celebrated of the Groundhog Day weather prognosticators, who “saw” his shadow when he emerged from his lair this morning just before 7:30, you’ll be getting ready for more winter — although, if it’s to the winter we’ve been having in the Northeast, that wouldn’t be too bad, anyway.
However, if you rely on one of the other two forecasting critters — Staten Island Chuck and Gen. Beauregard Lee — you can expect an early spring. Neither saw his shadow this morning.
Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania presided over Phil’s ceremonial Feb. 2 emergence in Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill in the town of Punxsutawney, some 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
The woodchuck has been making his “predictions” since 1886. Exactly how he became known as any kind of expert is difficult to understand, however.
According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, which runs the event, Phil has seen his shadow 100 times and not seen it 16 times. The Associated Press reported that there are no records for the 10 years unaccounted for.
