PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Furry little Punxsutawney (puhnk-suh-TAW’-nee) Phil is ready to make his annual appearance out of Gobbler’s Knob in west-central Pennsylvania.
Groundhog Day is Saturday, and the community is holding its welcome-back bash for the famous winter-weather prognosticator – the so-called seer of seers and sage of sages.
Legend has it that if the groundhog sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last six more weeks. No shadow means an early spring.
Phil’s got company. Groundhogs in Atlanta, New York, and Ontario also make predictions.
But Punxsutawney partisans say Phil is the original and the best. The 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray brought the Pennsylvania rodent even more notoriety.
Organizers say about 20,000 people are expected this weekend, a larger-than-normal crowd because Groundhog Day falls on a weekend this year.