Will it be six more weeks of winter or an early spring? That’s right, woodchuck-chuckers, it’s Groundhog Day 2024!
Punxsutawney Phil is set to make his annual weather prediction on Friday, Feb. 2, at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The small town, which calls itself the “weather capital of the world,” is home to the tiny meteorologist now celebrating their 138th Groundhog Day event.
Will the groundhog see his shadow? If he does, that means six more weeks of winter. If not, that means you won’t need to put your booties on.
The Groundhog Day festivities will air live at 7:15 a.m. on multiple networks and livestreams, including on USA Today’s YouTube channel.
It’s becoming a trend. 2023 was the third-warmest year in Syracuse in at least 120 years, and six of Syracuse’s 10 warmest years have occurred since 2002. Syracuse has historically been the snowiest city in America, but last winter saw just 55 inches of snow — less than half the typical 128 inches.
So it’s not surprising that Buffalo Bert, Western New York’s answer to Phil, saw his shadow last week. That means six more weeks of winter — in Buffalo, at least.
Groundhog Day history
The Associated Press notes the tiny meteorologist’s weather “forecast” is actually decided before he “sees” his shadow on Groundhog Day. Records show Punxsutawney Phil has called for an extended winter more than 100 times since 1887, and spring just over a dozen times.
Punxsutawney Phil also doesn’t have a strong track record predicting weather in Syracuse and CNY. From 2004 to 2013, there was no correlation between his predictions and the actual weather: In the five warmest periods after Feb. 2 over that stretch, Phil called for a late spring; in the coldest six-week stretch, in 2007, he promised an early spring.
Murray revisited his groundhog adventure in a 2020 Super Bowl commercial and his co-star Stephen Tobolowsky, who played insurance salesman Ned Ryerson, will reportedly appear in eight different Groundhog Day-themed ads this Friday.
The holiday is not without controversy. The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has repeatedly requested the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club retire Punxsutawney Phil and replace him with a robot — an animatronic groundhog with an artificial intelligence (AI) system that could more accurately predict the coming weather.
