America’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, did not see his shadow Saturday and predicted an early spring.
Members of Punxsutawney Phil’s top hat–wearing inner circle revealed their forecast at sunrise on Saturday. However, Phil’s prediction is decided ahead of time by the group on Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill just outside Punxsutawney, which is located about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh
According to legend, if the rodent sees its shadow, then it will retreat back to its burrow and winter will continue. But if it doesn’t see a shadow, due to overcast skies, then spring will arrive early.
Last year, Phil saw his shadow. Like Phil, there are other famous groundhogs people will be watching for on Saturday. Staten Island Chuck, formally known as Charles G. Hogg, lives in New York’s Staten Island Zoo. In 2014, during a Groundhog Day ceremony, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped the rodent, who had been secretly replaced with the original Chuck’s granddaughter Charlotte. Days later, Charlotte died, though the zoo said it was unlikely the fall caused the death. Since 2015, de Blasio stopped attending Staten Island’s Groundhog Day ceremony. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg didn’t have much luck with groundhogs either. In 2009, Bloomberg was bit at a Groundhog Day ceremony. – READ MORE