You asked and we delivered! Experience our new website look, enhanced readability, and expanded features for weather information with Superior Accuracy here.

X
           , °F

Radar & Maps

News & Video

Extreme Weather

Social

Personalized Forecasts

A.M. Planner

Home & Garden

Sports & Recreation

Health

Miscellaneous

Featured Forecast

My Favorite Forecasts

    My Recent Locations

    Will Phil see his shadow on Groundhog Day?

    February 2, 2016; 6:44 AM ET
    Share |

    Is there a method to Punxsutawney Phil's madness in predicting how long winter will last on Groundhog Day?

    Since the tradition of Groundhog Day began in Punxsutawney in 1886, Phil has seen his shadow, on record, 102 times. There were 18 times that he did not see his shadow, and nine years during the late 1800s that there is no record of Phil's forecast.

    Infographic: All there is to know about Phil

    Though Phil's method may seem flawed -- anticipating that the sight of his shadow determines a longer winter, while no shadow calls for an early spring -- he has a tendency to get it right. Because the year's coldest quarter, also known as meteorological winter, runs from Dec. 5 to March 5, Phil's accuracy in predicting a longer winter is about 80 percent.

    Phil's logic comes from the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox observances of Candlemas Day, tracing back almost 1,000 years.

    Groundhog Club handler Ron Ploucha, left, holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 129th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Monday, Feb. 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

    "An early association between the weather forecast and the religious observance is found in a Scottish couplet: 'If Candlemas is fair and clear / There'll be two winters in the year,'" AccuWeather Chief Forecaster Elliot Abrams said.

    "If the weather is 'fair,' the groundhog sees its shadow, and this is supposed to mean six more weeks of winter," Abrams said. "This is somewhat like saying that despite the sunshine on Groundhog Day, more winter is due." In any case, on this Groundhog Day, the Northeast and Northwest can plan on seeing six more weeks of winter.

    Phil will emerge to make his next prognostication around 7:25 a.m. EST on Feb. 2, 2017.

    Report a Typo

    Weather News

    Comments

    Comments left here should adhere to the AccuWeather.com Community Guidelines. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.

    More Weather News

    News Home

    Daily U.S. Extremes

    past 24 hours

      Extreme Location
    High N/A
    Low N/A
    Precip N/A

    Weather Whys®

    This Day In Weather History

    Latrobe, PA (1979)
    A total of 6.5" of rain fell in just a few hours. There was also flash flooding.

    East Coast (1991)
    Hurricane Bob roars ashore near Newport, RI. Winds gusted over 120 mph in places along the RI and MA coasts. Sixteen people were killed. Rainfall was also intense. A total of 7.76 inches of rain fell in Portland, ME, and 7.99 inches of rain fell at Gorham, ME. Bob did $2 billion dollars in damage.

    Butte, MT (1996)
    31 degrees.

    Rough Weather