Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow,
predicting 6 more weeks of winter
It's Groundhog Day … again.
Kate
Murphy, Reporter
Updated Mon, February 2, 2026 at 6:08 AM MST
Handler A.J. Dereume holds Phil the groundhog, as Phil makes
his prediction on how long winter will last, during the Groundhog Day
festivities, at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Feb. 2, 2026.
(Alan Freed/REUTERS)More
In Punxsutawney, Pa., the groundhog known as Punxsutawney
Phil emerged from his cozy burrow on Gobbler’s Knob and saw his shadow,
predicting six more weeks of winter.
As they do every year, tens of thousands of people gathered
in Punxsutawney, where temperatures were about 1 degree above zero, for the
prognosticating marmot’s long-term forecast.
Phil purportedly picked one of two scrolls confirming the
extended winter prognostication.
It works like this: If the sun is shining and Phil sees his
shadow, he takes that as “an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns
to his hole,” according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. If it’s cloudy and Phil
doesn’t see his shadow, he will stay above ground, signifying there will be an
early spring.
Last year, Phil also predicted six more weeks of winter,
which is typically his assessment: Since 2000, he’s seen his shadow and
predicted six more weeks of winter 20 times.
Boos rang out from the crowd on Monday after the
announcement of more winter was made.
Usually, after Phil makes his prediction, guests can pose
for photos onstage with the groundhog. But Phil’s handlers said it was so cold
that they were afraid to keep him out too long.
Why wouldn’t sunshine indicate an early spring?
Groundhog Day is rooted in an ancient European Christian
celebration known as Candlemas (Feb. 2), which occurs halfway through winter
and spring. It commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple of
Jerusalem as a light to the people of Israel. Christians traditionally take
their candles to church to be blessed and used for the rest of the year.
Historically, the weather on Candlemas was observed to
predict the start of spring. According to an old English song:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
This is why, according to tradition, if it’s a bright and
sunny day and the groundhog sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of
winter. If it’s a cloudy day and the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow, there
will be an early spring.
Why was a groundhog chosen as an indicator of spring’s
arrival?
In ancient European weather lore, people would also observe
hibernating animals, like a bear or badger, to foretell the arrival of spring,
according to the National Weather Service.
When German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700s,
they also brought their Candlemas traditions and used animals to predict the
weather. Since no badgers were found in Pennsylvania, they used groundhogs
native to the area to do the prognosticating.
How accurate is Punxsutawney Phil?
While Phil is arguably the most well-known weather prophet
extraordinaire, he isn’t the only one, and he isn’t the most accurate, either.
In 2025, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ranked the accuracy of 19
weather-predicting critters, including fellow groundhogs — living and
taxidermied — and noted that a prairie dog statue, duck, alligator and turtle
have joined the fun tradition. Staten Island Chuck took first place, with an
85% accuracy rate, while Phil ranked 17th out of 19 places, with just a 35%
accuracy rate.
How did the holiday tradition start in the first place?
A local Punxsutawney newspaper editor, Clymer Freas, was
part of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club (which started as a
groundhog hunting club). Freas is credited with starting the holiday on Feb. 2,
1886, after he wrote an article in the Punxsutawney Spirit that claimed the
groundhog Punxsutawney Phil could predict the weather. Phil’s fame began to
spread as newspapers around the world began reporting on his weather
predictions.
The first official trek to Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney
happened the very next year on Feb. 2, 1887, where the groundhog saw his
shadow. Phil’s weather predictions have exploded in popularity, especially
after the 1993 film Groundhog Day came out, starring Bill
Murray. Now, thousands of people gather every year at Gobbler’s
Knob to witness what the “Seer of Seers” has to proclaim.
PETA calls for Punxsutawney Phil to be replaced with a
hologram
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the world’s
largest animal rights organization, sent a letter on Jan. 20 to the Punxsutawney Groundhog
Club’s president, Tom Dunkel, with an offer to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a
hologram.
In the letter, PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk noted that
groundhogs are timid animals who “actively try to avoid humans,” especially
gatherings with loud noises and human smells. “Yet every year, this terrified
little animal is subjected to loud announcers and noisy crowds and held up and
waved around without any regard for his feelings, welfare, or instincts,”
Newkirk wrote.
That’s why the organization appealed to the Punxsutawney
Groundhog Club to let Phil and his family retire to a sanctuary in exchange for
“a massive, state-of-the-art, 3-D projection of a groundhog — complete with
vocal weather predictions — to light up the stage at Gobbler’s Knob each year.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wasn’t a fan of the offer or
changing tradition. He responded to the hologram offer in a post
on X, with a picture of Phil and the caption “Don’t tread on me,” which is
a reference to the Gadsden Flag, used in the Revolutionary War.
