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The mythology goes, if a groundhog comes out of his burrow on Groundhog Day and doesn’t see his shadow, then winter will end. If the groundhog sees it, six more weeks of winter. Going back to 1887, records suggest that Phil has overwhelmingly predicted winter, with over 100 instances of the six-week wait (and another ten years where no records exist).
Today, per CBS News, more than 20 states from New England to Texas find themselves under winter storm warnings, watches, or both.
In popular culture, Groundhog Day took a huge leap forward in popularity after the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, which starred Bill Murray as a meteorologist who travels to Punxsutawney to cover Phil’s prediction, and ends up snowed in and unable to leave. Upon waking up the next day, Phil (also Murray’s character name) discovers that he is trapped in a time loop, reliving the same day over and over again.
Yesterday, a New Jersey groundhog passed away before it could give the customary Spring report. Milltown Mel told the people of his town when they could expect the seasons to change for for six years. Central Jersey‘s reporting indicates that the lifespan for a groundhog is about 3 years. So, he lived a full life. However, the people organizing the Groundhog Day ceremonies for Milltown were taken off-guard by the news and ultimately unable to find a replacement in time.
