Groundhog Day: Rodent Predicts Weather in PA

Woohoo , we are having an early spring!!  Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow!

I live in Pennsylvania and today we celebrate Groundhog Day.  Wondering what in the world that is, well a groundhog comes out of his hole, and if he sees his shadow, it means we will have 6 more weeks of bad weather.   If he doesn’t see his shadow, it means we are in for an early spring.

Groundhog Day

I know this sounds a little far-fetched.  But honestly….Groundhog Day is a big deal in this part of the country.

This whole tradition started way back in 1887.  The event featured a rodent meteorologist, at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

Germans used to celebrate this day with hedgehogs but once they came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were plentiful  here in the Keystone State.

Groundhogs, also called woodchucks typically weigh 12 to 15 pounds and live six to eight years. They eat vegetables and fruits, whistle when they’re frightened or looking for a mate and can climb trees and swim. They go into hibernation in the late fall; during this time, their body temperatures drop significantly, their heartbeats slow from 80 to five beats per minute and they can lose 30 percent of their body fat. In February, male groundhogs emerge from their burrows to look for a mate (not to predict the weather) before going underground again. They come out of hibernation for good in March.

In 1887, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club declared that Phil, the Punxsutawney groundhog, was America’s only true weather-forecasting groundhog.

Since then thousands of people flock to Gobbler’s Knob on Feb. 2 to watch Phil emerge.  Here is a video clip.

Want your own stuffed groundhog to celebrate Groundhog Day?

Here is a book about Groundhogs Day.

So here in PA, Punxsutawney Phil, did not see his shadow, so we are supposed to have an early spring. Time will tell if he is an accurate meteorologist.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Do you celebrate Groundhog Day where you live? How do you celebrate?

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