STORM2K

Punxsutawney Phil sees shadow, winter to continue

* AP foreign, Monday February 2 2009

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) The world's most famous groundhog has seen his shadow which, legend has it, means this already long winter will last for six more weeks.

Punxsutawney (punx-suh-TAW'-nee) Phil's forecast was announced in front of thousands of revelers gathered at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. They gathered Monday morning in near freezing temperatures, with many revelers buoyed by the Super Bowl victory by the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night.

German tradition holds that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2 the Christian holiday of Candlemas winter would last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early.

Since 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times, hasn't seen it 15 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.


* guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

Accuweather.

Actually, Candlemas, otherwise known as Imbolc, is a PAGAN Holiday dating back well before the birth of Christ. It is a fire festival celebrating the return of the Sun as the Cross Quarter of the Year that comes before the Spring Equinox. If one looks at the hours of daylight, one finds that February is the first of three consecutive months where the the hours of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere increase the fastest ending the darkest time of the year.

Steve

Does that guy in the suit who bears a remarkable resemblance to Brian Doyle Murray in the movie "Groundhog Day" ever get bitten?

Occasionally the handler will get bite by the ground hog. This year, Staten Island Chuck bite Mayor Bloomburg. The handler of Phil has on some kind of armor under his gloves so if Phil decides to chomp down, the bite won't go directly into his hand.

Isn't this animal wrong about 60% of the time?

Well, ever since Phil has seen his shadow, the weather has been kinder to us here in the Mid Atlantic. No real brutal cold snaps and the birds are out there chirping like spring is on it's way.

I won't be lulled into a false sense of security, ala the Superstorm of 1993. If I remember right, that winter was rather forgetable - no big snows or ice storms, just some nuisance storms like this year.