UPDATE 2/2/17 @ 7:40 a.m.: Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means 6 more weeks of winter.
Original story below.
Groundhog handler John Griffiths holds Punxsutawney Phil. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
The official Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Day 2017 celebration at Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania begins today at 6 a.m. Watch the live stream here to learn if Phil will see his shadow or not. The event runs for two hours and Phil normally prognosticates around 7:30 a.m.
Watch the live stream here.
Groundhog Day is an annual holiday in the United States celebrated every February 2.
It was officially established in 1887 by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club who have monitored the event every year since. “Punxsutawney Phil” has been the name of the resident groundhog for the club since its inception, and they jokingly claim there has only ever been one Punxsutawney Phil.
However, the average lifespan of a captive groundhog is 9-14 years.
According to the legend, if it’s cloudy when Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it’s sunny, the groundhog will get scared by its shadow and run back into its burrow, bringing on six more weeks of winter.
So cloudy good, sunny bad.