If seeing Bill Murray's face on daytime movie channels hasn't been enough of a hint, here's a reminder that today is Groundhog Day, 2015. And as of this morning, our furry friends - for whom this day pertains - have confirmed that we are indeed doomed for six more weeks of winter... as if we didn't know that already.
That's at least according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club of Pennsylvania, who plays host to the United State's most famous of groundhogs, Punxsutawney Phil.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye! The Groundhog Speaketh!
This "Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of the All Prognosticators, was awakened from his borrow at 7:28 AM by His Handlers, John Griffiths and Ron Ploucha and by the cheers of his thousands of steadfast and faithful followers," the club cheekily announced Monday morning.
"Phil waved to his fans, gazed at the sky around his stump and with the help of the Inner Circle, looked for a shadow. Majestically.... speaking in Grounhogese, he directed President Bill Deeley to the precise scroll, which reads: Forecasts abound on the internet, but I, Punxsutawney Phil, am still your best bet. Yes, A Shadow I see."
The groundhog reportedly also told Deeley to tell the world to tweet out "#SixMoreWeeksOfWinter!"
The hash-tag is already trending because, as we all know, groundhogs have always been at the forefront of the twittersphere.
Phil, who has been making predictions for a whopping 129 years (thanks to the club's mysterious elixir of life), was not the only groundhog to see his shadow. Washington DC's own Potomac Phil (because only the most prophetic groundhogs boast such a name) also "saw" his shadow on Monday morning.
Not Really the Best Weatherman...
And while most know that Groundhog Day celebrations have always been tongue-and-cheek and nothing truly prophetic, experts are still quick to advise against actually relying on these predictions for making travel plans.
The many Punxsutawney Phils (groundhogs actually only live for 2 to 6 years) have only predicted 17 early springs since the Pennsylvania tradition was sparked by a local newspaper joke in 1887. And based on the remaining 101 predictions (nine more unaccounted for), the NOAA has concluded that Phil has "no predictive skill" for detecting more winter, especially "during the most recent years of this analysis" - that is, years that have become increasingly warm.
Potomac Phil has also been equally inaccurate, as he is actually just a stuffed groundhog that mirrors whatever the live Phil "says."
Scientists, man... sometimes they can be such buzz kills.
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