Groundhog Day 2026: Punxsutawney Phil Set To Make Annual Forecast

PUNXSUTAWNEY PA — People in Pennsylvania who are enduring a particularly harsh winter full of snow, ice and frigid temperatures are rooting for a groundhog to not observe his shadow on Monday.

If Punxsutawney Phil, the nation's most famous weather forecasting rodent, sees his shadow then his prediction is six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, an early spring supposedly on his way.

Phil annually makes his prediction on Feb. 2 before tens of thousands of revelers at Gobbler's Knob, about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. This will be the 140th time that Phil attempts to show meteorological mettle.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club credits The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper with printing the first observance in 1886; the first trip to Gobbler's Knob occurred the following year.

Various incarnations of Phil have predicted 108 years of more winter and 21 early springs. There are nine years without any records. In 2025, Phil predicted six more weeks of winter.

The groundhog club's inner circle, consisting of about 15 active members, manages and hosts Groundhog Day festivities that culminate at around 7:20 a.m. on February 2. Donned in tuxedos and top hats, they lift Phil up before cheering crowds of thousands awaiting his forecast.

The annual event inspired the classic 1993 comedy "Groundhog Day," in which a weather forecaster played by Bill Murray is sent to cover the rodent's annual moment of celebrity. The forecaster then finds himself in a time loop in which he awakens every morning to Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney.

You're probably wondering why Groundhog Day occurs on February 2. There's a reason.

The Christian holiday of Candlemas Day traditionally was celebrated then. On that day, Christians would take their candles to the church to be blessed to bring good fortune to their households for the rest of winter.

Germans expanded on the concept by selecting a hedgehog as a way of predicting weather for the rest of winter. Yes, it was strange. German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition but
switched to groundhogs, which are numerous in the state.