Punxsutawney Phil – the famous groundhog that observes the weather – woke up and did not see his shadow on Friday morning (2), which means that spring this year should start earlier.
Every February 2nd, Groundhog Day, members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club make a pilgrimage to Gobbler’s Knob – Phil’s official home.
The group hopes that Phil will emerge from his burrow and (the legend says) if he sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter are on the way. If there is no shadow, the start of spring will arrive sooner.
Phil and his friends in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, have been predicting the seasons since 1887, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
Scientifically speaking, winter will end on the spring equinox, on March 19, at 11:06 PM ET, regardless of today’s prediction. But Mother Nature doesn’t always stick to the schedule, and neither does Phil.
On average, Phil’s forecasts have been correct just under 40% of the time since 2013, according to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. So, betting on Phil’s predictions may not be a great gamble.
Forecasters from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center point to above-average temperatures across much of the U.S., a trend expected to continue into spring in the northern U.S.
While these potentially warmer conditions could be interpreted as the start of spring, they are more indicative of a winter that largely did not live up to its name.
All states in the northern half of the U.S. experienced one of the warmest Decembers on record. And despite the brutal cold in the middle of the month, with two strong snowstorms, January began and ended with above-average temperatures across much of the region.
Warmer winters are not a coincidence. Winter has become the fastest warming season in nearly 75% of the U.S. as temperatures rise globally due to climate change.
In light of this, will Phil’s prediction of an earlier spring come true? Signs point to yes.
Source: CNN