The country’s most famous weather predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, emerged at 7:28 a.m. on Jan. 2 and did not see his shadow, predicting the country was in store for an early spring in 2013. The Inner Circle of Punxsutawney made the official announcement on Saturday in front of thousands of anxious onlookers, including Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel.
Punxsutawney Phil has been predicting the weather since 1887 and has about a 39% accuracy rate. In recent years, Phil saw his shadow (meaning six more weeks of winter) in 2012, 2010 and 2009. He called for an early spring in 2011.
On Jan. 31, The Weather Channel compiled its list of “Top Groundhogs to Watch” and Punxsutawney Phil topped the list. Staten Island Chuck, General Beauregard Lee from Atlanta, Dunkirk Dave from NY, and Chattanooga Chuck rounded out the top five. Buckeye Chuck from Ohio, Sir Walter Walley from Raleigh, Jimmy the Groundhog from Wis., Malverne Mel and Holtsfield Hal from NY, and Woody from Mich. also made the list.
Jim Cantore was on hand for Phil's forecast to cover the event for The Weather Channel, which aired a live broadcast of the event. However, he’s also in town for an entirely different different reason. At 1 p.m. on Saturday, he’ll be crowned the 2013 Hall of Fame inductee at the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center. Cantore is the seventh inductee into the Meteorologist Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony is annually held on Groundhog Day. Following his induction, Jim Cantore will greet visitors from 2-3 p.m.
Stay up to the minute with the latest happenings at The Weather Channel by clicking on SUBSCRIBE. My articles will be sent to your in-box as soon as they’re published.
Comments