As of: February 13, 2024, 9:42 a.m
By: Sina Lück
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In the US state of Pennsylvania there is an animal weather expert named Punxsutawney Phil. The groundhog says: Spring is coming soon.
In the US state of Pennsylvania, a whole day revolves around a marmot.
More specifically, the marmot Punxsutawney Phil. The rodent with the tongue-twister name has a special task that he completes in front of thousands of people: he predicts the weather for the coming weeks.
Curious visitors gather every year at Gobbler's Knob, the “weather capital of the world”, where Phil is at home and hibernates - until Groundhog Day on February 2nd.
He is then lured out to announce his prognosis.
bw24
already reported
on the “cute” weather expert last year.
After the groundhog announced six more weeks of winter for the past three years, the people of Pennsylvania now have every reason to be happy: Spring will soon be here.
But how does animal weather forecasting actually work?
Animal prognosis: If Phil is frightened by his shadow, it will stay cold
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The groundhog tradition became popular with the 1993 film “Groundhog Day.”
In it, the American Bill Murray plays the weather announcer Phil Connors.
However, the custom has its origins in European agriculture.
The decisive factor was therefore the behavior of the rodents after their hibernation.
If the sun is in the sky at the time of awakening, the marmot is frightened by its own shadow.
If it then returns to its burrow, it should remain cold for another six weeks.
It is exactly the other way around when the sky is cloudy, which does not cause any shadows.
If the marmot stays outside, spring will soon come.
For the farmers, this would mean that they can sow the plant seeds in the field without hesitation.
The meaning has remained the same to this day.
That's why the people in Gobbler's Knob watch with fascination to see whether Phil would rather stay out in the fresh air or quickly crawl back into his protective burrow.
Marmot tradition: The rodent's hit rate is around 40 percent
Scientists disagree about the accuracy of marmot predictions.
For a study, a team evaluated data from 13 cities in Canada.
The result: Over the past 30 to 40 years, the marmots were correct 37 percent of the time.
The hit rate calculated by the
US National Climatic Data Center,
on the other hand, is somewhat better.
Accordingly, the rodents' predictions have been correct in 39 percent of cases since 1887.
The organizing Punxsutawney Groundhog Club takes the calculations in stride.
"We know it's silly, we know it's fun," executive director Marcy Galando told the
Associated Press
.
“We want people to come here with a sense of humor.”
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Every year on February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog, predicts the weather for the coming weeks.
© David Maxwell/dpa
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Weather marmots are found in America and Canada - the best-known rodents
Marmots, which predict the weather, are common in many U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
For example, in New York there is a marmot called “Staten Island Chuck”.
Other known rodents are:
“Balzac Billy”
(Alberta/Canada)
“General Beauregard Lee” (Georgia/USA)
“Jimmy the Groundhog” (Wisconsin/USA)
“Shubenacadie Sam” (Shubenacadie/Nova Scotia)
“Wiarton Willie” (Ontario/Canada)