Groundhog Day 2021: Did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow?
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By Michelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — Everyone’s favorite prognosticating groundhog has done it again.
Update 7:27 a.m. ET Feb. 2: On Tuesday morning, Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil came out of his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob and saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter.
Original report:According to WPXI-TV and The Associated Press, Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil is slated to make his annual forecast early Tuesday from Gobbler’s Knob in a Groundhog’s Day tradition that began more than 130 years ago.
A gloomy Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil says more winter Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter weather during this year's event that was held without anyone in attendance due to potential COVID-19 risks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
A gloomy Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil says more winter Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, as Vice President Tom Dunkel reads the scroll during the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter weather during this year's event that was held without anyone in attendance due to potential COVID-19 risks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
A gloomy Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil says more winter Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter weather during this year's event that was held without anyone in attendance due to potential COVID-19 risks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
A gloomy Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil says more winter Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter weather during this year's event that was held without anyone in attendance due to potential COVID-19 risks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
A gloomy Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil says more winter Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter weather during this year's event that was held without anyone in attendance due to potential COVID-19 risks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
A gloomy Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil says more winter Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter weather during this year's event that was held without anyone in attendance due to potential COVID-19 risks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
Photos: Groundhog Day 2021 celebration featuring Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil goes virtual Cardboard cutouts of groundhog enthusiasts decorate Gobbler's Knob for the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pa. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. This year's event was held without anyone in attendance due to potential COVID-19 risks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
Photos: Groundhog Day 2021 celebration featuring Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil goes virtual Cardboard cutouts of groundhog enthusiasts decorate Gobbler's Knob for the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pa. Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. This year's event was held without anyone in attendance due to potential COVID-19 risks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
Photos: Groundhog Day 2021 celebration featuring Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil goes virtual Cardboard cutouts of groundhog enthusiasts decorate Gobbler's Knob for the 135th celebration of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. This year's event was held without anyone in attendance due to potential COVID-19 risks. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
Photos: Groundhog Day 2021 celebration featuring Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil goes virtual Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Jeff Lundy surveys the stage on Gobblers Knob before a virtual event to be held the next morning on February 1, 2021, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
“With the help of the tuxedo-clad members of the mysterious Inner Circle, Phil shares his prediction with the world,” the Pennsylvania Tourism Office’s Holi-stay PA wrote in a news release. “If he sees his shadow, he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of winter and returns to his hole, and if not, he predicts that spring is just around the corner.”
Although the event usually draws an in-person audience of thousands, this year, fans will watch virtually as the lovable rodent comes out of his burrow around dawn, the news outlets reported. The change comes as the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
According to WPXI, over the years, Phil’s forecasting hasn’t been particularly accurate. He has been right just under 40% of the time, logging 104 predictions of a longer winter versus 20 forecasts of an early spring, the news outlet reported.
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