Groundhog Predicts Longer Winter
For those that live in cold weather regions, the power that Punxsutawney Phil holds in his hands, can be crushing.
After all, who wants six more weeks of winter?
Well, America's most famous rodent predictor told us just that today, reportedly seeing his shadow Tuesday and signaling six more weeks of the cold stuff.
Emerging from his ceremonial tree stump at Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania, Phil gave the news to a cheering crowd who was eagerly awaiting his annual prediction.
The tradition, dates back to early settlers from Germany who came to Pennsylvania. However, some say that it dates back to medieval times when there was a superstition that all hibernating animals emerged from their caves and dens to check the weather on Candlemas — halfway between the winter solstice in December and the vernal equinox in March.
In the 2010 edition of Groundhog day, Phil saw his shadow, which is the 99th time that the furry guy has forecasted more winter, according to groundhog.org, the official Web site of the groundhog club in Punxsutawney.
Most hope that Phil won't see his shadow. However, the lack of shadow has only happened 15 times in Phil's history, according to the club's website. No shadow, of course, means that spring is around the corner.
Despite Phil's predictions getting more media coverage than some worldly events, they don't mean squat to what actually happens in the atmosphere.
In fact, according to CNN meteorologist Chad Meyers citing stormfax.com, Phil is correct 39 percent of the time.
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