6 More Weeks of Winter
Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 136th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
There will be six more weeks of winter. That’s the prediction made today by Punxsutawney Phil after he emerged from his burrow in Pennsylvania to perform his Groundhog Day duties.
Thousands of people gathered at Gobbler’s Knob as members of Punxsutawney Phil’s “inner circle” summoned him from his tree stump at dawn to learn if he’d seen his shadow. After Phil’s prediction was announced, the crowd repeatedly chanted “six more weeks!”
According to folklore, spring would come early if he didn’t see it. And while Punxsutawney Phil may be the most famous groundhog seer but he’s certainly not the only one, and one competitor disagreed with his prediction. New York City’s Staten Island Chuck expects an early spring.
