Groundhog Day 2025: Punxsutawney Phil Predicts 6 More Weeks of Winter Weather
The world's famous groundhog announced his annual weather report on Sunday, Feb. 2
Punxsutawney Phil is predicting that winter is sticking around for a few weeks longer!
On Sunday, Feb. 2, a.k.a. Groundhog Day, crowds headed to Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., to find out what the famous groundhog would see when he emerged from his hole. And in this year's annual report, Phil saw his shadow — meaning that he predicts six extra weeks of winter.
The weather prediction comes after Phil predicted an early spring in 2024, after not seeing his shadow for the first time in two years.
Crowds traveled early to Gobblers Knob before the groundhog's verdict at around 6:30 a.m. today, while dressed in costume and holding signs and banners in homage to the groundhog, per BBC.
An announcer read from a scroll during the celebration, "It's Groundhog Day and maybe life is on the loop, but I miss my burrow I miss my coop. So I'm headed back down, there's a shadow up here — get ready for six more weeks of winter this year!"
Related: Groundhog Day 2024: Punxsutawney Phil Predicts an Early Spring
As the groundhog's weather verdict was announced, crowd members booed and groaned at hearing the news having hoped for the outcome of imminent springtime.
The tradition of Groundhog Day originates from the early days of Christianity in Europe. It dates back to the holiday of Candlemas (Feb. 2), which sees Christians bring candles to church to be blessed, per Pennsylvania Tourism Office and the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
The first U.S., Groundhog Day was recorded in Punxsutawney in 1886, as German settlers in Pennsylvania pulled the tradition from European weather lore that used the appearance of hibernators, such as badgers, as a sign to prepare for spring.
Related: PETA Suggests Replacing Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day with a 'Weather Reveal' Cake
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Each year, thousands of people from around the world descend onto Gobblers Knob to celebrate the holiday. And although the famous groundhog’s weather predictions aren’t always correct, the crowd is always excited to learn what he sees when makes his appearance.
Additional events and gatherings are also held throughout the week leading up to Groundhog Day, per the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
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