Patch Poll: Forget Phil! Give Patch Your Winter Weather Predictions

If we didn’t know any better, we’d say Groundhog Day already has come and gone and that Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow.

After all (quick, knock on wood!), we’ve had unseasonably warm weather in the Pittsburgh area all week. Tuesday’s temperatures reached nearly 60 degrees — and there even was sunshine!

As you probably already know, Punxsutawney Phil, a k a the world’s most famous groundhog, emerges (or rather, is pulled) from his burrow on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, PA, every Feb. 2 to predict the weather for the rest of the winter.

According to legend, if Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of wintry weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

The Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney has been taking place since 1887 and attracts thousands of revelers from around the world. The kooky celebration was further immortalized in 1993 when Bill Murray played a jaded weatherman doomed to repeat the same day over and over again in the classic film Groundhog Day. 

While there’s no shortage of groundhogs in the Cranberry area — I often see them in the fields alongside the roads when I’m driving around the township — the oversize rodents don’t get quite the same welcome in this community as they do in Punxsutawney.

We’d much rather hear your weather predictions. Is the warm weather we’ve experienced so far this winter an indication of an early spring? Or is the worst weather, including icy roads and school delays, yet to come.  

Do you believe that furry Phil has a forecasting edge over our local weather experts?

Answer our Patch Poll or leave your thoughts in the comment section.