Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Day 2012: Weather Prediction Thursday

By Emma Koonse, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, February 01, 2012

The groundhog from Pennsylvania, Punxsutawaney Phil has prepared to predict upcoming weather on Groundhog Day Thursday.

In front of hundreds of cameras Feb. 2, the rodent meteorologist will search for his shadow. As the Groundhog Day tradition goes, if Phil sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he has predicted six more weeks of winter. If Phil does not see his shadow, he has predicted an early spring.

The special celebration of Groundhog Day is observed in the U.S. as well as Canada and takes place on Gobbler's Knob near Punxsutawney, Penn.

The ground hog's hometown of Punxsutawney is approximately 90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh and 100 miles south of Erie nestled in the hills of the Appalachian Plateau. It is also home to about 6,200 residents, as well as Phil's "wife" Phyllis and their "children."

Phil's caretakers consist of a special group of people called the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The group also plans the annual celebration, and are recognizable at the event by their top hats and tuxedos. Also, as of 2011, Phil has two co-handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.

Crowds will gather at Gobbler's Knob Thursday at around 3:00 a.m. for a bonfire and await Phil's prediction at 7:25 a.m.

Groundhog Day can be traced by to early Christians in Europe who looked to a hedgehog to identify his shadow on Candlemas Day. The Groundhog Club says that since 1887 Phil and his predecessors have predicted more winter weather after spotting their shadows nearly 100 times, but no records account for nine years.

Punxsutawney Phil is rivaled by other Groundhog Day celebrations in the U.S., including those in New York City with the groundhog named "Staten Island Chuck."

New York's groundhog will emerge from his burrow at the Staten Island Zoo at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, where the Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg will likely await Chuck's decision. The event can be watched on a live streaming video on silive.com.