Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil says 'long winter,' but was wrong before he woke upALAN FREED/REUTERS Handler John Griffiths introduces Punxsutawney Phil to the crowd at Gobbler's Knob on the 131st Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Punxsutawney Phil - the pleasantly plump Pennsylvania marmot who claims he "is the only true weather forecasting groundhog" - woke up on Thursday morning (Friday NZ Time), crawled out of his hole and saw his shadow. More winter, Phil said. Phil probably should have phoned in last year's forecast this morning, because this one was wrong before he even woke up. NOAA says Groundhog Day originated as an ancient celebration of the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox.

Source: Stuff February 02, 2017 17:50 UTC