Pennsylvania’s most famous ground dog came out of its den on a snow Tuesday morning and saw its shadow, declaring that there would be another six weeks of winter. Members of Punxsutawney Phil’s Inner Circle woke up the hairy crater at 7:25 a.m. to see if he would see his shadow or not.
The spectacle that is Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, has continued, but this year it was all virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
GroundhogDay.org
Shortly after this year’s prediction was announced, one of the members of the inner circle shared a message which he said Phil had told him earlier in the day: ‘After winter you look forward to one of the most beautiful and brightest fountains What’s you’ve ever seen. ‘
Another member of the ‘inner circle’ notes the uniqueness of the past year.
“People were referring to Groundhog Day. Sometimes it felt like we were all living the same day over and over again,” one member said. “Groundhog Day also shows us that the monotony is ending. The cycle will be broken.”
“It’s Groundhog Day today, there’s only one,” he added. “There’s literally a new day on the horizon.”
According to records dating back to 1887, the Pennsylvania forecaster predicted more than 100 times more winter. Last year, Phil predicted an early spring.
A livestream, which at one stage had more than 15,000 viewers, played footage from previous Groundhog Day’s before the big unveiling.
Barry Reeger / AP
Then, of course, the predictor of predictors – assisted by his inner circle – emerged at dawn. The story goes that if he sees his shadow like this year, there will be another six weeks of winter. If he does not, spring is coming early.
The livestream from Gobbler’s Knob, a small hill just outside Punxsutawney, about 105 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, is made possible by the Pennsylvania Office’s Pennsylvania Holi-stay PA. The event there, always on February 2, dates from 1887.
Phil, like many years in the past, made his prediction this year during a major snowstorm that hit the entire Northeast.
Jeff Lundy, president of the Groundhog Club, told CBS Pittsburgh: “I have been doing this for a long time. I have not really understood the economic impact so far. And now I see it, because there are so many businesses. “They do not. It does not depend on Groundhog Day, but it is really that extra income that you may not get, because it has had a very negative impact on the community.”