Pennsylvania’s “official state meteorologist” Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Sunday morning, predicting six more weeks of winter.
Sunday’s joyous occasion was the 138th prognostication in Punxsutawney, located in Jefferson County. The festivities kicked off at 6 a.m. in a cold 20 degrees, and Phil made his appearance to the eager crowd at 7:22 a.m. It included singing, dancing, live music and fireworks to amp up the crowd ahead of Phil’s prediction.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa., spoke early on during the annual festivities at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., rebuffing People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) demands to replace the beloved animal with something vegan.
“There’s some folks out there who said we should take this great tradition that stretches all the way back to the 1880s and get rid of Phil and replace him with a cake,” Shapiro said in front of thousands of people. “If anybody comes for Phil, they’re gonna have to go through me and all of you. Am I right?”
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Shapiro added that last year he declared Phil the “official state meteorologist” and that the groundhog is “never wrong about the weather.” He teased making Groundhog Day an official state holiday.
The governor has been on-hand for every Groundhog Day ceremony in Punxsutawney since taking office in 2023.
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PETA President Ingrid Newkirk told the New York Post that Phil is denied the traditional lifestyle of a groundhog “for a tired old gimmick.”
While Groundhog Day is considered a national holiday and has even been popularized in the classic 1993 Bill Murray film of the same name, the day — and Phil himself — hold a special place in many Pennsylvanians’ hearts.
The annual weather prediction ceremony is hosted by the Groundhog Club Inner Circle, a group of local dignitaries who care for Punxsutawney Phil and help arrange special festivities.
Even though Punxsutawney Phil’s weather prediction is the one people gather to see, the groundhog’s prediction is made ahead of the big moment by the group on Gobbler’s Knob, a location very close to Punxsutawney, just around 65 miles away from Pittsburgh.
In addition to the large ceremony in western PA, throughout the rest of the Commonwealth, many historically Pennsylvania German communities are home to a “Grundsau Lodsch” or Groundhog Lodge.
Fox News’ Carles Creitz and Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.
