Every February 2, the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (USA), is overshadowed by a peculiar meteorologist known as Punxsutawney Phil - named after his hometown. This popular groundhog is tasked with predicting the length of winter, and his forecast is picked up by media outlets around the world.
The annual event is called Groundhog Day, organized by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, and takes place on Gobbler's Knob (the mammal's official home). Phil, in front of a crowd of tourists and curious onlookers, made his traditional prediction around 7:20 a.m. local time (1:30 p.m. in Barcelona). The groundhog's keepers removed it from its lair and this year the legendary weather forecaster did not see its shadow, announcing the end of winter and the arrival of spring.
The small animal may not have taken into account either climate change or the behavior of El Niño in its recent weather forecast for the US as soon as it emerged from the trunk that gives it shelter. Perhaps that is why it is wrong most of the time and gives rise to experts questioning these unscientific shows in recent years.
"Phil often sees his shadow, but he is not always right," they point out in NOAA (National Centers for Environmental Information, in English) collected on the PennLive.com portal. "The fact that he tries could deserve some admiration," admits the organization that predicts the weather report in different regions of the country. Even so, they emphasize that "a groundhog should not be trusted." The mammal, with its famous ritual, predicts six more weeks of winter if it sees its shadow, and an early spring if it does not. However, Stormfax has revealed that the rodent has been 40% accurate since 1887. "We know this is ridiculous and we know this is fun," Marcy Galando, executive director of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, humorously told the AP agency. upon knowing these data. "We want people to come and have a good time," she added.
Despite his predictive limitations, Phil the groundhog already has his place of honor in the US Meteorologists Hall of Fame at the prestigious Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center, since last year, being the "last and most famous" member to be included.
The furry mammal is gaining world renown every year, attracting tourists from all over. According to Variety, the town of Punxsutawney, of about 6,000 inhabitants, went from receiving about 15,000 to 35,000 tourists after the premiere of the film Groundhog Day (1993) starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell; which curiously was filmed practically entirely in the neighboring town of Woodstock.
However, the festive event around the figure of the groundhog has received criticism from the organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, in English). They denounce, through a press release, the use of these animals to predict the weather, calling it an “obsolete and unethical practice.” Recently, they proposed to the organizers to replace them with a coin, since the accuracy rate would be 50 percent, therefore higher than the current one.
The origins of Groundhog Day date back to ancient Candlemas celebrations in 6th century Europe, which used animal behavior to predict the arrival of spring. In colonial America, German settlers in Pennsylvania opted for a groundhog as a predictive animal. Local historians date the first predictions in the area to 1841 and the first festive gatherings in Punxsutawney, starting in 1880. It was not until 1930 that the first Groundhog Clubs were created, intended to preserve German culture and traditions in the region. Currently, these types of holiday rituals are celebrated in at least 28 US states and several Canadian provinces.
