FOX Weather takes a look at the chances of Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow when he emerges from his burrow in Pennsylvania on Groundhog Day on Sunday.
It’s been a long, cold and dreary winter, but have no fear. The world’s most famous groundhog is about to give us his prediction as to when the tide will turn, ushering in the warmer temperatures of spring.
However, if you’re not a fan of what Punxsutawney Phil has to say about it on Feb. 2, you’re in luck. There are plenty of other groundhogs out there who are just as eager to try and predict the weather.
Just to recap: Groundhog Day in 2025 is Sunday, Feb. 2. If Phil doesn’t see his shadow, then the U.S. can rejoice – an early spring is on the way. If he does see his shadow – hunker down. Winter will be sticking around for another six weeks.
Here are a few other groundhogs that try to dabble in weather forecasting and can get a tad bit irritable in the process.
WILL PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL SEE HIS SHADOW SUNDAY ON GROUNDHOG DAY?
Punxsutawney Phil – Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
FILE – Groundhog handler AJ Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil after he did not see his shadow predicting an early Spring during the 138th annual Groundhog Day festivities on Friday February 2, 2024 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Groundhog Day is a popular tradition in the United States and Canada. Over 40,000 people spent a night of revelry awaiting the sunrise and the groundhog’s exit from his winter den. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his den. Early spring arrives if he does not see his shadow, causing Phil to remain above ground. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
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According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, 1886 marked the first time that Groundhog Day appeared in the local newspaper, and the following year brought the first official journey to Gobbler’s Knob.
Today, tens of thousands of people from around the world head to Pennsylvania to celebrate Phil, and organizers advise guests to arrive during the pre-dawn hours to take advantage of the day’s festivities.
In Canada, Toronto’s Gary the Groundhog had less glamorous digs in 1995. The master of ceremonies pulled a cardboard box off the day’s star, which was enclosed in chicken wire.
Staten Island Chuck – Staten Island, New York
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped Staten Island Chuck on Groundhog Day 2014.
Meet Staten Island Chuck.
Chuck made national news when he bit New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s finger in 2009. Bloomberg reached into the groundhog’s cage, which did not work out well.
Chuck lives at the Staten Island Zoo.
Then, in 2014, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped the squirming animal, which died a week later. Zoo officials claimed the fall was not related to the death.
Jimmy the Groundhog – Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Jimmy the Groundhog bit the Sun Prairie mayor’s ear during a Groundhog Day celebration in 2015.
Jimmy the Groundhog bit Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Mayor Jonathan Freund back in 2015 when he leaned in to try and “hear” what the animal had to say about the forecast.
Freund then declared there would be an early spring, but Jimmy’s handlers said the mayor was wrong.
FOX 6 Milwaukee then later reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture informed the town that capturing wild animals for the exhibit was against the law. PETA also sent a letter demanding Jimmy’s immediate release. Town officials released him back into the outdoors.
Starting in 2016, a new Jimmy predicted weather from inside a cage.
Potomac Phil – Washington, DC
FILE – Politicians and groundhog committee members, from left to right, ANC Commissioner, Mike Silverstein, Dupont Festival Board member, Andy Klingenstein,Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, ANC Commissioner, Kevin O’Connor lean over to hear the grounhog’s prediction. A stuffed groundhog, “Potomac Phil”, predicted six more weeks of winter during Washington DC’s first annual groundhog day celebration in Dupont Circle. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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Potomac Phil is a bit less “lively” than his fellow rodents – because he’s stuffed.
Event organizers transport the taxidermied groundhog to the podium to predict not only the weather but the political climate as well.
The Dupont Circle Business Improvement District puts on the annual event in Washington, D.C., and calls Potomac Phil, the National Groundhog.
Wiarton Willie – Wiarton, Ontario
Canada’s Wiarton Willie began as a fur hat in 1957, according to Mac McKenzie, a Wiarton resident. He told a Toronto Star reporter that the fur hat in the snow was actually an albino groundhog looking for its shadow.
The town’s Groundhog Day celebration grew in popularity along with Willie.
Wiarton erected a statue of Willie.
Other weather-predicting groundhogs
You’d be surprised at just how many groundhogs across the U.S. and Canada offer their services when it comes to letting us know when sunny skies and warm temperatures return.
Here are a few honorable mentions.
Bill Murray runs through the snow in a scene from the film ‘Groundhog Day’, 1993. The film was shot in Woodstock, Illinois.
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Woodstock Willie provides his prediction in Woodstock, Illinois. That’s a town northwest of Chicago. According to a report from FOX 32 Chicago, Bill Murry filmed the movie Groundhog Day in the town.
FILE – Flatiron Freddy, a stuffed yellow-bellied marmot, is seen during the annual Groundhog Day Celebration at Chautauqua Park in Boulder on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. (Photo by Matthew Jonas/MediaNews Group/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images)
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Flatiron Freddy out in Boulder, Colorado, is set to make his annual weather prediction on Feb. 2, too. City officials said that Freddy has appeared in many ways, including by canoe, fire engine, bobsled, skis, zip lines and more.
FILE – Lincoln, MA – February 2: On Climate Action Day, Ms. G, the Official Groundhog of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, returned (as a virtual event) to Mass Audubons Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary to search for her shadow in Lincoln, MA on Feb. 2, 2022. Ms. G. made her annual prognostication for when spring will arrive. Folklore has it that if she sees her shadow, well be looking at six more weeks of winter; if not, an early spring is in the works. This year she predicted an early spring. (Photo by Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
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And finally – Meet Ms. G.
She’s Massachusetts’ State Groundhog and lives at the Mass Audubon Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary.
Students at the Hunnewell Elementary School in Wellesley campaigned hard for Ms. G to become the official Massachusetts state groundhog.
Their hard work paid off because on July 31, 2014, then-Gov. Deval Patrick signed the Ms. G Bill H.2864 into law, making it official.