On February 2, the well known groundhog in Pennsylvania determined if there are six more or six less weeks of winter. In the lovely town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Phil will crawl out of his hole and see or not see his shadow. This tradition of determining the season has been happening since February 2, 1877. It has been said that the Phil that is seen today has been the Phil since 1877, and that any other groundhog is an imposter.
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is not the only state to have a little fella that determines weather. In an Oregon zoo they have a hedgehog named Fufu, and Fufu’s job is the same as Phil’s. Unlike Phil though Fufu’s accuracy rate for her predictions is 53%, Phil’s is 39%. Along with predicting the season’s length a burrowing owl in Florida predicts if spring will come sooner or later. According to The FOX Weather News Pisgah Penny the squirrel in North Carolina does the same thing, along with New York’s Clucksatawney Henrietta the chicken, Scramble the duck from Connecticut, Bee Cave Bob a armadillo from Texas, and another from Oregon, Stumptown Fil the beaver.
Here in Pennsylvania the wonderful Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow. So that means that Spring will come six weeks early. Brielle Cox, a freshman, says “I am so happy that Phil saw his shadow. I cannot wait for winter to be over.”
