Just before sunrise on Groundhog Day, Wednesday, Feb. 2, Punxsutawney Phil crawled out of his temporary burrow erected at Gobbler’s Knob in a rural area two miles east of Punxsutawney, Pa.
Click here for photos of the Groundhog Day 2011 event
Surrounded by members of the Inner Circle, the group that organizes the event attended by thousands every year, the legendary weather-prognosticating rodent appeared, dictating that spring is near for North Americans.
“He did not see his shadow,” Mike Johnson, vice-president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, told The Epoch Times. “He’s predicting an early spring. I think most of the East Coast is happy to hear that.”
According to American folklore, if the weather is sunny when Phil emerges from his burrow, he will see his shadow and snuggle back into his burrow, indicating that winter will continue for six more weeks. But if the weather is cloudy, the groundhog will leave the burrow, signifying the arrival of an early spring.
“The conditions were absolutely terrible,” said Johnson. “This was the most challenging weather we’ve ever had to put up with.”
Normally, continued the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club veteran, at a mid-week groundhog day celebration the town expects 10 to 12 thousand groundhog enthusiasts. This year, “I’m guessing there were five to seven thousand,” said Johnson. “They were not the largest crowd, but they were the heartiest and most enthusiastic. This was a group of hardcore dedicated fans of Phil.”
Since he took on his job, Phil has seen his shadow 98 times and has not seen it just 16 times, including this time, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
The festivities began Saturday, Jan. 29 with a breakfast with Phil, and ended at noon on Feb. 2.
The celebration of Groundhog Day started with Pennsylvania’s earliest settlers in the 1800s. The first official weather prediction at the Gobbler’s Knob was made by Phil on Feb. 2, 1887, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
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