In an annual February 2 tradition, a groundhog named “Punxsutawney Phil” emerged from winter hibernation in his burrow to test the weather.
According to his handlers at the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, established in 1887, the rodent saw his shadow on Friday and scurried back inside, auguring six more weeks of winter.
No shadow and it would have been an early spring.
A number of towns in the United States and Canada celebrate “Groundhog Day” but “Punxsutawney Phil,” named for his hometown in Pennsylvania, is the most celebrated of the rodent weather prognosticators.
“Groundhog Day” is also the title of the 1993 cult classic movie featuring Bill Murray in which he wakes up and experiences the same day again and again.
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