Groundhog Day 2026: Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, predicting 6 more weeks of winter
It's Groundhog Day … again.
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Mon, February 2, 2026 at 12:27 PM UTC
4 min read
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In the cold early hours of Monday, Feb. 2, the “Seer of Seers” emerged from his cozy burrow in Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., and saw his shadow, meaning there will be six more weeks of winter. That prognosticator is none other than Punxsutawney Phil — one of America’s most beloved furry marmots.
It works like this: If the sun is shining and Phil sees his shadow, he takes that as “an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his hole,” according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
If it’s cloudy and Phil doesn’t see his shadow, he will stay above ground, signifying there will be an early spring.
Why wouldn’t sunshine indicate an early spring?
Groundhog Day is rooted in an ancient European Christian celebration known as Candlemas Day (Feb. 2), which happens halfway through winter and spring. It commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem as a light to the people of Israel. Christians traditionally take their candles to church to be blessed and used for the rest of the year.
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The weather on Candlemas Day was also observed in order to predict the start of spring. According to an old English song:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
This is why, according to tradition, if it’s a bright and sunny day and the groundhog sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If it’s a cloudy day and the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow, there will be an early spring.
Why was a groundhog chosen as an indicator of spring’s arrival?
In ancient European weather lore, people would also observe hibernating animals, like a bear or badger, to foretell the arrival of spring, according to the National Weather Service.
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When German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700s, they also brought their Candlemas traditions and used animals to predict the weather. Since no badgers were found in Pennsylvania, they used groundhogs native to the area to do the prognosticating.
How accurate is Punxsutawney Phil?
While Phil is arguably the most well-known weather prophet extraordinaire, he isn’t the only one, and isn’t the most accurate, either.
In 2025, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ranked the accuracy of 19 weather-predicting critters, including fellow groundhogs — living and taxidermied — plus a prairie dog statue, duck, alligator and turtle have joined in the fun tradition. Staten Island Chuck took first place, with an 85% accuracy rate, while Phil ranked 17th out of 19th place, with just a 35% accuracy rate.
How did the holiday tradition start in the first place?
A local Punxsutawney newspaper editor, Clymer Freas, was also part of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club (which started as a groundhog hunting club). Freas is credited with starting the holiday on Feb. 2, 1886, after he wrote an article in the Punxsutawney Spirit that claimed the groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, could predict the weather. Phil’s fame began to spread as newspapers around the world started reporting on his weather predictions.
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The first official trek to Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney happened the very next year on Feb. 2, 1887, where the groundhog saw his shadow. Phil’s weather predictions have exploded in popularity, especially after the 1993 film Groundhog Day came out, starring Bill Murray. Now, thousands of people gather every year at Gobbler’s Knob to witness what the “Seer of Seers” has to proclaim.
PETA calls for Punxsutawney Phil to be replaced with a hologram
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the world’s largest animal rights organization, sent a letter on Jan. 20 to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s president, Tom Dunkel, with an offer to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a hologram.
In the letter, PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk noted that groundhogs are timid animals who “actively try to avoid humans,” especially gatherings with loud noises and human smells. “Yet every year, this terrified little animal is subjected to loud announcers and noisy crowds and held up and waved around without any regard for his feelings, welfare, or instincts,” Newkirk wrote.
That’s why the organization appealed to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to let Phil and his family retire to a sanctuary in exchange for “a massive, state-of-the-art, 3-D projection of a groundhog—complete with vocal weather predictions—to light up the stage at Gobbler’s Knob each year.”
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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wasn’t a fan of the offer or changing tradition. He responded to the hologram offer in a post on X, with a picture of Phil and the caption “DONT TREAD ON ME,” which is a reference to the Gadsden Flag, used in the Revolutionary War.
This isn’t the first time the nonprofit has tried to persuade the group to let Phil retire. In 2025, PETA offered a “Weather Reveal” vegan cake to be cut at Gobbler’s Knob, revealing either blue, signifying six more weeks of winter, or pink, indicating an early spring.