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Stories

Punxsutawney Phil Reveals If We’re In For An Early Spring 2024

by Dana Daly

Published February 2, 2024

The world's most famous groundhog shares his predictions

February 2 marks Groundhog Day 2024, a time when the nation looks to the heroic and adorable Punxsutawney Phil to predict the coming of an early spring or six more weeks of winter. After a particularly frigid winter struck much of the country this season, many are hoping for a break sooner rather than later – but what does Phil predict?

Locals and visitors from afar gathered at Gobbler’s Knob, Phil’s “official” home in Pennsylvania, from which he emerges to look around to determine if he sees his shadow or not. The tradition started locally and soon became a national phenomenon. This year, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow – so what does that mean for the country’s weather?

Related:

  1. PETA Wants To Stop Using Punxsutawney Phil For Groundhog Day — Here’s Their Proposed Replacement
  2. Spring Hasn’t Come This Early In About 100 Years

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Groundhog Day 2024

On this Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring! pic.twitter.com/mdQSPlbmDf

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 2, 2024

At 7:30 a.m., Phil emerged from his burrow to predict the weather. On the morning of February 2, it was announced that he did not, in fact, see his shadow. This particular outcome means that an early spring is likely on the horizon.

RELATED: PETA Wants To Stop Using Punxsutawney Phil For Groundhog Day — Here’s Their Proposed Replacement

If you want to get technical, spring officially starts on March 19, right around the time of the vernal equinox; this is basically when the Earth’s axis is tilted neither towards or away from the sun, so the time of daylight and nighttime are equal. After this point, it’ll start shifting the other way to give us more daylight, and thus, the warmer season in the Northern Hemisphere.

But none of that involves a national hero of a woodchuck.

How Phil found fame

The eyes of the nation turned to Gobbler's Knob for Groundhog Day 2024
The eyes of the nation turned to Gobbler’s Knob for Groundhog Day 2024 / YouTube screenshot

Traditions for weather prediction go back centuries and cross countless national borders, making Phil an amalgamation of fascinating superstitions and celebrations. Perhaps most noticeable is the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges on February 2 and sees its shadow, it is driven to retreat back into its burrow; this, the belief goes, is a warning of six more weeks of winter coming.

In contrast, if it does not see its shadow, the groundhog stays out more and residents can take comfort in warmer weather coming sooner.

Punxsutawney Phil has predicted the coming of an early spring
Punxsutawney Phil has predicted the coming of an early spring / Twitter video screenshot

Trace it further back to its Germanic roots, the mammal of choice was a badger, usually consulted for Candlemas. Before the badger, it had been a bear because of its hibernation patterns, but their eventual scarcity made the lore require a change.

Were you hoping for a bit of this refreshing cold, or are you ready for spring to bloom?

GROUNDHOG DAY, Rod Sell, Brian Doyle-Murray
GROUNDHOG DAY, Rod Sell, Brian Doyle-Murray, 1993, (c) Columbia/courtesy Everett Collection

RELATED: Boston Readers Share Memories And Photos Of The Blizzard Of ‘78

Next up: D-Day Veteran Honored On His 100th Birthday
Previous article: D-Day Veteran Honored On His 100th Birthday
Next Post: Middle Schoolers Shock Teacher When They Sing Every Word Of a John Denver Classic

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