Punxsutawney Phil Makes His Groundhog Day Prediction

Punxsutawney Phil made a weather prediction Sunday that will make others want to burrow away with him. The furry soothsayer saw his shadow during the annual Groundhog Day ceremony, which, according to the lore, means there will be six more weeks of winter. If Phil had not seen his shadow, it would have indicated that spring would have an early start. The yearly ritual dates back to 1887, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. However, the rodent has only accurately predicted the change in seasons about 35% of the time over the past 20 years, according to an NOAA study. Phil’s prediction comes after PETA called on organizers to scrap the tradition entirely in favor of a vegan “weather reveal cake.” The animal rights group claimed that Phil’s responsibilities are “no piece of cake” for him. “When allowed to be themselves, groundhogs avoid humans, create intricate networks of underground burrows, communicate with one another, and even climb trees, but poor Phil is denied all of that for a tired old gimmick,” PETA president Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement.