Phil, the most famous groundhog in the United States, has made his long-awaited prediction: will winter continue or will spring come soon?

In front of more than 40,000 curious people who spent the night awake, the famous groundhog Phil of the city of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, came out of his lair this Friday to announce it spring comes early this yearin the midst of climate change.

“Good news this Groundhog Day: the beginning of spring is upon us,” announced the master of ceremonies in a tuxedo and top hat at the ceremony hosted every February 2 by members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club in Gobbler’s Knob. , Phil’s official home, just outside the city.

“No doubt spring will come soon,” – said one of the members of the Marmot Club who interpreted the animal’s growls, appearing surprised and confused.

When Phil emerges to the surface after spending the winter in his burrow and sees his shadow, it is a harbinger of bad weather, which may last another six months, as happened last year.

But after carefully examining Phil’s position on a platform, The jury determined that there was no shade, synonymous with the fact that spring is coming and the cold and snow are behind us. Since the tradition began in 1887, this is only the twentieth time the groundhog has not seen his shadow.

“Another winter sleep interrupted to get to know the crowd, still it’s hard to sleep when the party is so loud,” said Dan McGinley, vice president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, reading an excerpt parchment “selected” by the marmotwho listened to the weather forecast undaunted, despite the crowd surrounding her and who burst with joy upon hearing the forecast.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, which claims it’s the same animal that’s been making predictions with an “elixir of life” for 130 years, says Phil has a 100 percent correct record.

When satellites and technological means to predict the weather didn’t exist, farmers in the United States and Canada resorted to this particular method immortalized in the film “Groundhog Day” OR “Caught in Time”with Bill Murray in 1993, to predict the weather for the next few months, which is essential during the planting season.

With roots in Celtic culture, several waves of European migrants to the east of the country, particularly Germans and Dutch, brought new customs to a region where agriculture was the main source of income and for which weather forecasts were essential .

The Germans resorted to badger to make weather forecasts, but in American lands the Dutch turned to the marmot, which according to historians was more abundant in the area where they settled in the mid-18th century.

Phil isn’t the only weather groundhog, but he’s the most famous. Other places in North America have their own: General Beau Lee (Atlanta), Wiarton Willie (Ontario, Canada), Sir Walter Wally (Raleigh, North Carolina), Jimmy (Wisconsin), Chuck (New York), Birmingham Bill (Birmingham, Alabama) and Potomac Phil, a stuffed marmot, in Washington DC.