Pennsylvania's famous marmalade proclaimed: "Spring is coming this year"
On the morning of International Groundhog Day, the mammal was hoisted at a special convention in the town of Ponksasutwani, predicting the expected weather in the coming weeks. The event originated in 1887, in German legend, where if a furry rodent casts a shadow on February 2, winter continues, and if not - spring is approaching
Pennsylvania's famous marmalade proclaimed: "Spring is coming this year"
Editing: Tal ResnickPhil, the famed Pennsylvania marmalade, announced Sunday at a snowy city in the snow-capped Portsmouth town that spring is expected to arrive early this year, "Spring is coming soon, for sure!" As the sun set on Groundhog Day, a North American rodent from the squirrel family, members of the Groundhog Club revealed the 134th furry oracle. Waking up from the calls of his name, the pluck elephant was hoisted into the air before making his decision. Then, he grabbed his handler's glove, and one of the club members announced the forecast.
The origin of the annual event is from an 18th-century German fairy tale that if a furry rodent casts a shadow on February 2, winter continues, and if not, spring arrives sooner than expected - Phil did not cast his shadow. In reality, Phil's prediction is predetermined by club members on a small hill outside the town, about 105 miles north of Pittsburgh.
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The Groundhog Club Announces Weather on the Groundhog Day in Pennsylvania, United States - February 2, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)
In the last five years - from 2015 to 2019 - Elephant predicted six more weeks of winter and only twice early spring. According to records from 1887, the Pennsylvania forecaster predicted about a hundred times more winter, making this year's forecast a rare announcement. According to the official website of Elephant Sothawan Elephant, its prediction accuracy is 100% of the time, but the Government Information Center's website says the rodent is accurate only 40% of the time.
"By superstition, sunny skies mark a stormy, cold second half of winter, while overcast skies signal the arrival of warm weather," according to the Government Information Center's website.
More in Walla! NEWS More in Walla! NEWSAnd the Florida outlook: intense cold and frozen iguanas dropping from the trees
To the full articleThe predatory accuracy of the groundhog elephant over the years
The Groundhog Club Announces Weather on the Groundhog Day in Pennsylvania, United States - February 2, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)
The rodent-raising custom is prevalent in some areas of North America, where other beloved marmots predict the weather. Like, for example, the Grand Bio of Georgia, Bucky Chuck of Ohio, Wharton and Willie of Ontario, and even a marmot doll named Potomac Phil of Washington.
However, Phil's official website states that it is "the only weather prediction cheat" and that everything else is "just an impostor."
"The only weather forecasting mud," the marmot elephant, today (Photo: Reuters)
The Groundhog Club Announces Weather on the Groundhog Day in Pennsylvania, United States - February 2, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)
The rodent's 134th forecast. Ceremony today in Pennsylvania (Photo: Reuters)
The Groundhog Club Announces Weather on the Groundhog Day in Pennsylvania, United States - February 2, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)
The outlook is predetermined by club members. The Marmita County Ceremony in Pennsylvania today (Photo: Reuters)
The Groundhog Club Announces Weather on the Groundhog Day in Pennsylvania, United States - February 2, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)
