Groundhog Day 2013: 'Punxsutawney Phil' Predicts Early Spring

[littlemissmartypants]

Source: ABC

An early spring is on the way, according to groundhog "Punxsutawney Phil."

When the Pennsylvania groundhog emerged from his dwelling at Gobbler's Knob Saturday morning, he did not see his shadow.

"And so ye faithful, there is no shadow to see, an early Spring for you and me," proclaimed Bob Roberts, one of Phil's handlers

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/groundhog-day-2013-punxsutawney-phil-sees-shadow-predicts/story?id=18382344

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I have jonquils in my yard and it is freezing cold. Old timers used jonquils to predict early spring as well. Great News! Especially for us with aching bones. Love and Peace. lmsp

[AlbertCat]

1. Predicts Early Spring

Well....since we're ALREADY having spring weather....

[littlemissmartypants]

3. I know some places are...but

for me last night was a triple nightgown night. It is sad when you have to dress in layers to sleep. Love and Peace. lmsp

[Ter]

5. Not here in East Coast

21 degrees now.

[AlbertCat]

6. You guys!

Brrrrrrrrrrr...... I know it's cold, but what I refer to is that blast of deep dipping arctic air hitting warm moist gulf air creating a squall line from Indiana to Mississippi.... not the lov-er-ly late spring weather we are looking forward to.

[chuckstevens]

2. Yeah So Do Others

Forget the groundhog, leading scientist are predicting a permanent Spring if climate change keeps accelerating.

[littlemissmartypants]

4. I was reading anthropology this morning and

you know how history repeats... so do weather states and we are already in a "new" one for sure. Love and Peace. lmsp

[littlemissmartypants]

8. Look Familiar to any one?

[hobbit709]

7. Here's Wiley's take on it.

[Robb]

10. Nails it.

No need this year to really break out the snow shovel in Denver, much less the snowblower. Astounding.

[tridim]

26. Second year in a row with no winter in KC.

It used to snow like crazy here. We also used to have tornados.

[Drunken Irishman]

33. That is so bizarre. I'm in SLC, just over the Rockies, and it has been a brutal winter.

Maybe the worst I've experienced here. We've had weeks of single digit temps, sometimes breaking into the negatives and a shit-load of snow. A few weeks ago, we got about two-feet and it's still piled up out there.

I took this the other day:

[appleannie1]

9. It is snowing on Gobbler's Knob so of course he didn't see his shadow. He is also mad as

hell about being dragged out his climate controlled home in the mall, carried up a windy hill, stuffed in a frigid box and then rudely dragged out of that and held aloft in temps in the teens just so a bunch of crazies have an excuse to get drunk.

[LiberalEsto]

14. I hope he poops on the mayor

a fitting statement

[SemperEadem]

20. thank you

one day, that rodent is going to open up a can of whoop ass on the idiot who sticks his hand in and pulls him out.

[FailureToCommunicate]

11. My take away from all the ceremony?:

"Don't drive angry"

[CrispyQ]

31. Love that movie!

[cantbeserious]

12. Hooray - Let The Snow Melt Now!

eom

[DinahMoeHum]

13. Happy Candlemas, everyone!

We're at the midpoint of the winter season.

And, AFAIC, once February (the shortest month) passes, winter is practically over.

[LiberalEsto]

15. It may technically be the shortest month

but it feels like three long months rolled together.

[SemperEadem]

19. doesn't it?

I always say that February is the longest month of the year... the complete dead of winter.

We're getting another round of snow this afternoon... so winter's still in command of the mid atlantic.

[LiberalEsto]

24. Yup, snow here in Maryland too

After the warm winter last year, I'd almost forgotten what it looked like.

[CTyankee]

34. This year it seems like January was the worst. I thought it would never end.

Unless it snows like crazy, it can't be as long as Jan.

One thing about March that I aways used to dread was that we'd get a last snowstorm toward the end of the month. It screwed up air travel and had us frantically shovelling snow once again, even tho the snow didn't last very long.

[SemperEadem]

42. when I was growing up in Missouri

I remember one April where we got 12 inches of snow... it was one of those thunder and lightening kinds of snow storms... probably was 70 degrees two days later.

[CTyankee]

43. I always wondered how you could get thunder and lightening with snow. It never made

any sense to me...

[littlemissmartypants]

16. Thank you...the longest day has passed

and allergy season is just around the corner. AhhhhChoo. Love and Peace. lmsp

[onehandle]

17. Global warming has made the captive rodent irrelevant. nt

[SemperEadem]

18. Spring rolls through on March 21st every single year

one doesn't need to pull a groundhog out from its slumber to make that prediction. One can walk out into the open and see if they see their own shadow--it'll be made by the same sun that a groundhog uses to see his/hers.

Climate change can tell you that warm temperatures may become evident earlier than it should. Last winter, the daytime highs were never below freezing once... The winter before that, we had a winter like we're having now. The winter before that, we had the snowpocalypse trains running over us.

[iandhr]

21. We have had winter here? It was 58 in NYC a few day ago

[SemperEadem]

22. dig it...

the week before, the high was around 20 something for about 4 days. Then in two days, the high was in the 60's. Two days later, it was back in the 30's.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. My sister's snowdrops are up and about to bloom

They usually don't come out until at least mid-February! My Mom has had hosta nubs showing all winter so far.

This morning, the Punxatawney club's announcer said it was 8F there.

[CrispyQ]

25. Watching "Groundhog Day" on TV right now.

[slackmaster]

28. I Got You Babe

[tridim]

27. One of my favorite holidays thanks to Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliot.

[slackmaster]

29. I always enjoy it, because it's the day before my birthday

I'll be 55 tomorrow.

[alp227]

30. he should've come out with this sign

[Beacool]

32. Pretty darn cold in NJ right now.

So I hope that the little critter is right. On the other hand, I'm not looking forward to temperatures in the high 90s in summer. Do they have a flamingo or gator that can predict whether the summer is going to be unusually hot?

[VA_Jill]

35. In Wisconsin

where I grew up, we always hoped the groundhog (in this case Jimmy the Groundhog, who lives in Sun Prairie) would see his shadow because that meant ONLY 6 more weeks of winter. Now I live in the Shenandoah Valley of VA and we have snowdrops and snow crocuses blooming here.

[bitchkitty]

36. Sunshiny and breezy down my way!

I love this but don't allow myself to get too happy. This is Oregon. It will rain.

[Brigid]

37. 29° here in Indy.

We had a little snow today, maybe half an inch. It's been cold here this winter, but still not like I remember as a kid. And least year I wore a short-sleeved green T-shirt to the St. Patrick's Day parade and a little sunburned on my arms.

[RebelOne]

38. I hope the groundhog is wrong.

Early spring means early summer. I hate, hate, hate summer. Keep the cold weather here a while longer.

[Figaro78]

39. <sigh> How long...

before this senseless, childish crap fades away.

[littlemissmartypants]

40. I heard

a republican in a top hat say we are going to have to pry the groundhog from his cold dead hands... could be a while. Love and Peace. lmsp

[LanternWaste]

45. It's benign, it's harmless and it's fun for a lot of people.

It's benign, it's harmless and it's fun for a lot of people.

I can certainly understand why someone may want to see that gone... sigh, part II

[LongTomH]

46. Yeah, we need more harmless fun, really!

Too often, we get deadly serious about everything.

[Princess Turandot]

41. Staten Island Chuck agrees....

The city is due for an early spring according to Staten Island Chuck, who did not see his shadow - or old rival Mayor Bloomberg - Saturday morning.

Chuck entered the pantheon of famous weather rodents in 2009 when he bit Bloomberg.

Some cute photos in the article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/groundhog-staten-island-chuck-predicts-early-spring-article-1.1253801#ixzz2Jqn5KPgh

[Kennah]

44. Honey Badger says, "Fuck you, Phil!"