Punxsutawney Phil Sees His Shadow

About 2,000 people gathered in Punxsutawney, Pa., on Wednesday morning for the updated winter forecast from the famous groundhog.

61 posted on 02/02/2005 5:43:41 AM PST by Rightly Biased (I believe If you can't say something good about somebody your probably talking about Hillary Clinton)

Sorry about your luck, Punxatawny. Here in Cleveland there's no way any of our local groundhogs saw their shadow...

63 posted on 02/02/2005 5:44:27 AM PST by Rightly Biased (I believe If you can't say something good about somebody your probably talking about Hillary Clinton)

65 posted on 02/02/2005 5:45:40 AM PST by Rightly Biased (I believe If you can't say something good about somebody your probably talking about Hillary Clinton)

"Around here this morning, he could not see the ground, let alone his shadow. The fog is thicker than I have ever seen it. What does that mean?"

Your glasses were too warm when you went out?

Check them in a few minutes, if the "fog" is still there get an eye exam. ;)

66 posted on 02/02/2005 5:46:01 AM PST by G.Mason (A war mongering, UN hating, military industrial complex loving, Al Qaeda incinerating American.)

Have a big girl ride on the back she can help with the leanin' Kinda like a Harley... only different

68 posted on 02/02/2005 5:47:13 AM PST by Rightly Biased (I believe If you can't say something good about somebody your probably talking about Hillary Clinton)

70 posted on 02/02/2005 5:48:16 AM PST by Rightly Biased (I believe If you can't say something good about somebody your probably talking about Hillary Clinton)

71 posted on 02/02/2005 5:48:40 AM PST by fredhead ("It is a good thing war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it." General Robert E. Lee)

The groundhog's seasonal forecasting accuracy is somewhat low.
Phil's Winter prognostications have been correct only 39% of the time.

1887	Shadow; first official trip to Gobbler's Knob.
1888	Shadow (Six more weeks of Winter!)
1889	no record
1890	NO Shadow (early Spring!) [Birthdate: Charles Correll ("Andy" on radio's Amos & Andy)]
1891	no record
1892	no record
1893	no record
1894	no record
1895	no record
1896	no record
1897	no record
1898	Shadow
1899	no record
1900	Shadow
1901	Shadow [Birthdate: Jascha Heifetz, violinist]
1902	NO Shadow
1903	Shadow
1904	Shadow
1905	Shadow
1906	Shadow [Birthdate: Gale Gordon, actor]
1907	Shadow
1908	Shadow
1909	Shadow
1910	Shadow
1911	Shadow
1912	Shadow [Birthdate: Burton Lane, composer]
1913	Shadow at 8:08 AM; first newspaper photo of Groundhog Day by John Frampton.
1914	Shadow at 9:34 AM
1915	Shadow at 11:45 AM; named Wiley William Woodchuck!
1916	Shadow at 9:07 AM; first films of Groundhog Day ceremony.
1917	Shadow
1918	Shadow; 18 degrees below zero.
1919	Shadow [Birthdate: Forrest Tucker, actor]
1920	Shadow
1921	Shadow at 7:17 AM
1922	Shadow at 7:11 AM; Groundhog Holiday Dance.
1923	Shadow [Birthdate: Liz Smith, gossip columnist]
1924	Shadow at 7:13 AM
1925	Shadow at 8:13 AM; [Birthdate: Elaine Stritch, actress]
1926	Shadow at 9:17 AM
1927	Shadow at 8:35 AM; [Birthdate: Stan Getz, jazz saxophonist]
1928	Shadow at 10:00 AM; program with Punx'y Rotary Club on KDKA Radio.
1929	Shadow
1930	Shadow at 7:11 AM
1931	Shadow at 12:27 PM
1932	Shadow at 9:11 AM
1933	Shadow
1934	NO Shadow.
1935	Shadow at 9:11 AM
1936	Shadow at 10:27 AM
1937	Shadow at 9:09 AM; early morning encounter with a skunk! [Birthdate: Tom Smothers, comedian]
1938	Shadow at 9:05 AM; "darkest shadow in history" (The Spirit, Feb. 2, 1938)
1939	Shadow at 9:10 AM
1940	Shadow at 9:00 AM
1941	Shadow at 4:25 PM
1942	Partial Shadow at 7:40 AM; "War clouds have blacked out parts of the shadow." (The Spirit, Feb. 2, 1942) [Birthdate: Graham Nash, guitarist, singer]
1943	Groundhog did not appear; relied on Quarryville's prediction.
1944	Shadow at 9:10 AM
1945	Shadow at 9:00 AM
1946	Shadow at 7:52 AM
1947	Shadow at 7:37 AM; first newspaper photo of Groundhog Club at Gobbler's Knob [Birthdate: Farrah Fawcett, actress, model]
1948	Shadow at 8:46 AM
1949	Shadow at 7:32 AM
1950	NO Shadow
1951	Shadow at 8:41 AM
1952	Shadow at 7:52 AM; on NBC's Today Show on Monday, February 4
1953	Shadow at 7:38 AM; [Birthdate: Christie Brinkley, Cover Girl model]
1954	Shadow at 8:03 AM
1955	Shadow at 8:51 AM; 4" of snow on Groundhog Day; [Birthdate: Kim Zimmer, actress]
1956	Shadow at 8:33 AM
1957	Shadow at 7:47 AM; [Birthdate: Brent Spiner, actor]
1958	Shadow at 8:27 AM; [Birthdate: Holly Hunter, actress]
1959	Shadow at 8:23 AM
1960	Shadow at 7:33 AM; forecasts extremely bad weather on the Today show.
1961	Shadow at 7:41 AM; 25 below zero.
1962	Shadow at 7:29 AM; [Birthdate: Garth Brooks, singer]
1963	Shadow at 7:41 AM
1964	Shadow at 7:35 AM
1965	Shadow at 7:58 AM
1966	Shadow at 7:21 AM
1967	Shadow at 7:25 AM
1968	Shadow at 7:29 AM
1969	Shadow at 7:29 AM
1970	NO Shadow
1971	Shadow at 7:29 AM; 14 below zero.
1972	Shadow at 7:30 AM
1973	Shadow at 7:29 AM
1974	Shadow at 7:28 AM
1975	NO Shadow
1976	Shadow at 7:29 AM
1977	Shadow at 7:27; in midst of the energy crisis.
1978	Shadow at 7:28 AM
1979	Shadow at 7:28 AM
1980	Shadow at 7:29 AM
1981	Shadow at 7:27 AM
1982	Shadow at 7:26 AM; coldest January this Century.
1983	NO Shadow; predicted an early Spring after a mild El Nino Winter.
1984	Shadow at 7:04 AM
1985	Shadow at 7:28 AM
1986	NO Shadow; visited President Reagan at the White House in March.
1987	Shadow at 7:29 AM
1988	NO Shadow
1989	Shadow
1990	NO Shadow
1991	Shadow
1992	Shadow
1993	Shadow; the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray is released.
1994	Shadow at 7:28 AM
1995	NO Shadow; afternoon guest on the "Oprah Winfrey" TV Show.
1996	Shadow at 7:21 AM
1997	NO Shadow; 35,000 watched at Gobbler's Knob
1998	Shadow at 7:20 AM; predicting six more weeks of a mild El Nino Winter!
1999	NO Shadow at 7:23 AM; 37º rain
2000	Shadow at 7:28 AM; 12º overcast skies with flurries
2001

Shadow at 7:27 AM; 28º cloudy skies with light snow
2002	Shadow at 7:25 AM; 19º mist with a record 38,000 visitors driven to Gobbler's Knob by bus for security.
2003	Shadow at 7:27 AM; 30º overcast skies with PA Governor Ed Rendell attending the ceremony.
2004	Shadow at 7:27 AM; 17º clear skies with snow on the ground, crowd boos the forecast!
2005	Shadow at 7:31 AM; 14º clear skies with a wind chill of 3ºF.

73 posted on 02/02/2005 5:49:23 AM PST by bd476 (God Bless those in harm's way and bring peace to those who have lost loved ones today.)

75 posted on 02/02/2005 5:50:48 AM PST by beyond the sea (Barbara Boxer is Barbra Streisand on peyote ......and is the north end of a south bound mule.)

Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while. ~Kin Hubbard

76 posted on 02/02/2005 5:51:25 AM PST by beyond the sea (Barbara Boxer is Barbra Streisand on peyote ......and is the north end of a south bound mule.)

Have a happy day, change something for the better. .......... Thanks to Jim Robinson for the site.

Yes, and on Groundhog Day:

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. ~Maori Proverb

77 posted on 02/02/2005 5:54:41 AM PST by beyond the sea (Barbara Boxer is Barbra Streisand on peyote ......and is the north end of a south bound mule.)

Easily the stupidest media "non event" in the history of the planet. .......... Well, the second stupidest.

no, no, no, no ;-)

***

The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it. ~Patrick Young

78 posted on 02/02/2005 5:56:53 AM PST by beyond the sea (Barbara Boxer is Barbra Streisand on peyote ......and is the north end of a south bound mule.)

Gotta keep in mind that if he sees his shadow, there are 6 more weeks.

If he doesn't see his shadow --- it will be one and 1/2 months.

Have to keep this time span straight!

It's like a cold. It usually lasts a week, but if you treat it, it is gone in 7 days.

Thanks for the ping, BTS. Every year, I await word over what the groundhog "sayeth". And yes, I do recall years when he didn't see his shadow.

Last night at library, I picked up a book, authored in the 60s, interviewing folks in the Lower Appalachian Mountains. Whole section given to how the folks predict winter. They don't do the groundhog thing. But, if at this time of year the north side of the bark on trees is dry.. winter is near over. If it is moist, more weeks of winter.

Trees in my local are moist on the north side.

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