Punxsutawney Phil Declares: Early Spring

Famed groundhog didn't see his shadow
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 2, 2011 6:58 AM CST
Punxsutawney Phil Declares: Early Spring
In this file from Feb. 2, 2009, John Griffiths, a handler of the weather-predicting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, holds Phil after removing him from his stump at Gobbler's Knob.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Can it be? A glimmer of good, 45-degree news? Punxsutawney Phil emerged today and did not see his shadow, meaning his annual weather forecast is for an early spring, reports the AP. To the cynical: Phil has seen his shadow 98 of the 113 years that have been recorded since 1887, meaning he had about an 87% chance of predicting six more weeks of winter. (More groundhog day stories.)

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