Groundhog Day takes place on February 2 every year, when a famous groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, is said to predict the weather. The next one is on Tuesday, February 2, 2027. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, the legend goes, six more weeks of winter follow; if he doesn’t, an early spring is on the way. The countdown above tells you how long until the big reveal.
Where the tradition comes from
February 2 is Candlemas, a Christian feast that falls roughly halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. European folklore held that a sunny Candlemas meant more winter to come. In Germany the animal forecaster was traditionally a badger; when German-speaking immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, they adopted the plentiful groundhog instead. The earliest known American reference to the custom is an 1840 diary entry, and the first official ceremony at Gobbler’s Knob, just outside Punxsutawney, was held in 1887.
What happens on the morning
Members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle, dressed in top hats and tuxedos, gather at Gobbler’s Knob before dawn. Shortly after sunrise Phil is brought out of his burrow, and the club announces his verdict, which he is said to deliver in ‘Groundhogese’. Thousands of people make the trip, and many more watch the livestream. Other weather-predicting rodents have loyal followings of their own:
- Staten Island Chuck in New York City
- Wiarton Willie in Ontario, Canada
- Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia, often the first to make a call each year
- General Beauregard Lee in Georgia
How accurate is Phil?
Not very. The Stormfax Almanac puts his record at about 39 percent, and other comparisons of his calls with actual temperatures land somewhere between roughly 30 and 50 percent, no better than a coin toss. Nobody climbs Gobbler’s Knob in the dark for a scientific forecast, though; the fun is the point.
The movie that made it famous
The 1993 film Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray as a weatherman stuck reliving the same February 2, turned a small-town custom into a worldwide reference and boosted crowds in Punxsutawney. It also gave English a new expression: a ‘Groundhog Day’ situation is one that keeps repeating. Despite the setting, most of the movie was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois.
Ways to join in
- Watch the livestream from Gobbler’s Knob early in the morning, Eastern Time.
- Host a movie night with Groundhog Day; repeat viewings strongly encouraged.
- Make a family prediction and compare it with what the weather actually does over the next six weeks.
- Visit Punxsutawney, where the town runs festivities in the days around February 2.
Want a reminder? Add the countdown to your calendar so you don’t miss the shadow call. Next up on Tempoo: Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day and the first day of spring.