Punxsutawney Phil sees shadow - Sir Walter Wally does not
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (WTVD) -- Pennsylvania's famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his lair in front of thousands of revelers around dawn Monday and forecast six more weeks of winter.
A German legend has it that if a furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another six weeks. If not, spring comes early.
In reality, Phil's prediction is decided ahead of time by a group called the Inner Circle on Gobbler's Knob, the tiny hill in the town for which he's named about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Records going back to 1887 show Phil has predicted more winter 101 times while forecasting an early spring just 17 times. There are no records for the remaining years.
Punxsutawney Phil isn't the only weather prognosticator of note. In Raleigh, Sir Walter Wally also made official weather prediction Monday.
Mayor Nancy McFarlane returned as the "Groundhog Whisperer" and announced that Wally did not see his shadow - signalling an early spring.
Since 1998, Wally has been right 53 percent of the time, while his cousin to the north has been correct a measly 35 percent.
And in Garner, the town welcomed Snerd the Groundhog Monday.
While Mortimer has been Garner's go-to groundhog for predictions in years past, Snerd was tapped for this year's event.
He told Mayor Ronnie Williams that we can expect an early spring.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
