Punxsutawney Phil, Pennsylvania’s official state meteorologist, saw his shadow Monday morning, signaling six more weeks of winter.
Thousands of spectators gathered at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, for the 140th annual Groundhog Day celebration, watching as the famous groundhog emerged from his burrow to deliver his much-anticipated forecast.
While Phil made his prediction, AccuWeather’s chief long-range forecaster, meteorologist Paul Pastelok, said the cold weather is likely to stick around for at least another week. Temperatures across much of the eastern United States are expected to remain below average, he said.
“We’ve still got more snow and ice to deal with,” Pastelok said, particularly in the mid-Atlantic, Ohio River Valley and the Northeast. He noted that while long-range forecasts aren’t always precise, meteorologists can still identify overall weather trends.
Not everyone puts their faith in Phil’s predictions. The National Centers for Environmental Information has long questioned the groundhog’s accuracy. Last year, the federal agency reviewed Phil’s forecasts against national temperature data over the past decade and found he was correct only about 40% of the time.
Despite the skepticism, Groundhog Day continues to draw crowds — including prominent political figures. Among those attending Monday’s event was U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, who noted his mother was from Punxsutawney. State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a potential gubernatorial candidate, was also present, along with Republican state Senate leaders Joe Pittman and Kim Ward.
Although Groundhog Day is widely recognized across the country and famously immortalized in the 1993 Bill Murray film, the tradition — and Punxsutawney Phil himself — holds a particularly special place in the hearts of Pennsylvanians.