By Meteorologist and Chief Chirp, Stephanie Blozy

I guess it comes as no surprise that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning since the skies were crystal clear.  When Phil’s proclamation was read, half the crowd cheered while the other half booed.  I was among those cheering since I would like to experience one more snowstorm before spring arrives. 

In the height of the ceremony, I glanced over at Mark.  He looked like a kid on Christmas morning.  He raised both arms in the air in triumph as Phil’s handler, Bill Deeley, brought Phil out of his stump.  Mark later told me that up until the last minute, he was unsure of whether Phil was really going to see his shadow despite the clear skies.  The meteorologist in Mark is skeptical of Phil’s prediction.  He is going against the hog and predicting an early spring. 

After the proclamation was read, Aleks and I made our way on stage to come nose-to-nose with Phil.  Phil is definitely a big, furry hog, but I wasn’t about to tease him after he bared his sharp front teeth!

The crowd cleared out quickly – no doubt to head to warmer environs.  The local community center is having a “Groundhog Grub” breakfast until 11am this morning and the downtown area has many events and activities scheduled throughout the day.

My WeatherBug colleagues and I will soon pack-up the StormChaser Truck and hit the road.  Along the way, we’ll stop so that Mark and I can participate in conference calls with schools across the country throughout the day.  They’ve all been instructed to come up with a question for us.  I am hopeful that all the interesting facts and trivia that I’ve learned about Phil and Groundhog Day will help me to answer all their questions.

From all of us here at WeatherBug, Happy Groundhog Day! 
Mark, Aleks, Clint and Stephanie

PS:  Before you go, don’t forget to click on the “Photo Album” link in the right-hand navigation menu to check out the incredible photos that Clint snapped during the ceremony.  He had a front-row seat for all the action.  It’ll make you feel like you were live on Gobbler’s Knob with us!

By Meteorologist and Chief Chirp, Stephanie Blozy

The Inner Circle is progressing down the aisle.  The music is LOUD.  They’re playing polka music as the Inner Circle is walking onto the stage.  The Inner Circle is being escorted by the police.  Everyone’s clapping.  We are moments away! 

The crowd is hushed....  The inner circle is leading a chant for Phil!  “Phil!  Phil!  Phil!”

The action has stopped so the local weather casters can do a live shot.  Now, we’re ready…

“...the 119th trek to Gobbler’s Knob...the largest crowd on a weekday on Groundhog Day.  Do we believe in Punxsutawney Phil?” The crowd cheers “Yes!” The crowd is mixed-- half wants spring, half wants winter.

They are now introducing the members of the Inner Circle…

They have TV stations from around the world here.

Bill Cooper is going to talk to Phil and Inner Circle member, Rusty, is going to make the proclamation to the crowd.  The handler is Bill Deeley-- he will get Phil from the oak tree stump.

Bill is taking a 100 year old cane to awaken the groundhog by knocking on the door.  Bill will reach in and pull him out-- put him on top of the red carpet to see what he predicts.  They chant, “Are you READY?” The crowd chants, “YES!”

“P-H-I-L!!!” “P-H-I-L!!!” Bill is now getting the cane ready to knock on Phil’s door.  The crowd chants “Phil!” some more.

Here we go!!!!!

Gentle taps on the door… Bill the handler reaches in… grabs Phil.... He holds Phil above his head to show him to the crowd.  The crowd cheers!!!! Phil looks like he is awake. 
Bill is talking to Phil.  They are looking eyeball to eyeball.  Bill is concentrating on every Groundhogese sign there is.

At 7:31am, Bill has told Rusty what Phil has said.  Bill reviews the proclamation and reads it to the crowd…

Bill talks about the Tsunami, landslides and snowstorms this year and that they have caused much suffering and pain, but spring brings us new hope.  At Groundhog Day we think of spring, but evenso…

PHIL SAW HIS SHADOW!

By Meteorologist and Chief Chirp, Stephanie Blozy

Music from the 80’s is blaring.  A man that looks like Bill Murray is on the stage pumping the crowd up even more.  A big red beach ball is bouncing in the air above our heads.  I feel like I’m at an outdoor rock concert with 5,000 of my closest friends.  Some people are dressed as groundhogs – staying toasty warm, no doubt.  The high school King and Queen are on stage and a man that looks like Bill Murray just announced that the Inner Circle will soon be processing down. 

By Meteorologist and Chief Chirp, Stephanie Blozy

Fireworks at 6:30am?  Only in Punxsutawney!  The festivities are kicking into to high gear as we near the hour of Phil’s prediction.  The estimated crowd of 5,000 people erupted in a huge cheer as the first boomer went off and the speaker system blared the theme music to Star Wars as the fireworks show began in earnest.  I hope the booming finale didn’t scare Phil too much as he paces in his stump waiting to make his appearance. 

The temperature is bottoming out near 17 degrees, but Phil’s Phans don’t seem to mind.  Most everyone came dressed for the weather except for the few brave (?) souls wearing shorts.  Must be from Minnesota where 17 degrees is considered balmy.

As for me, I am having the morning of my life.  I love doing things that are out-of-the-ordinary, and this celebration definitely fits the bill.  It’s extraordinary! 

By Chief Meteorologist, Mark Hoekzema

Wow! What can you say? It is an amazing scene here already at Gobblers Knob. I would estimate that several thousand revelers are already out and enduring the 20 degree temperatures.

Folks are keeping warm singing and dancing and just having a good time. The men from the Inner Circle are taking turns on the stage playing games with the crowd and getting them to yell back and forth for Phil.

I must say that no matter what I envisioned for my first trip to Gobblers Knob, I could never have imagined the scene here.

I encourage you to browse through the photo gallery to get a feeling for what it is like.

By Meteorologist and Chief Chirp, Stephanie Blozy

Our 3:30am wake-up call came awfully early this morning, but you’d never guess that it was that early by all the activity at the hotel.  Most everyone in the sold-out hotel was in the lobby eating breakfast.  I don’t know about you, but breakfast was the furthest thing from my mind.  What I wanted was an extra few hours of sleep.

As I carried my backpack out to the truck, I checked the sky and saw nothing but stars twinkling.  I miss seeing stars like these in DC where the city lights pollute the sky hiding the stars.  Weatherwise, the stars meant clear skies.  Groundhogwise, the stars meant that Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow.

But this prognostication business can be tricky – even for a groundhog.  Looking at the long-range weather maps, there is a definite shift to a new, hopefully warmer, weather pattern for much of the country.  Based on that, you could say that there is some scientific proof that Spring is on it’s way (bad news for all you school kids hoping for a few more snow days). 

So the question of the morning is, “Will he see his shadow or won’t he?” Is there any scientific basis to Phil’s prognostication or will he take his shadow that he is almost certain to see at face value.

In about 2 hours, we’ll find out!

By Chief Meteorologist, Mark Hoekzema

3:30am comes early regardless of when you get to sleep.

I did a quick meteorological observation shortly after I arose this morning. Skies are crystal clear, wind is calm and the cars in front of the hotel have a thick layer of frost.

I’m in Dubois, Pennsylvania but Punxsutawney is just 15 miles and about 30 minutes away and I doubt it is much different. It’s looking fairly obvious that Phil will likely see his shadow.

Steph, Clint, Aleks and I hope to have observations and camera images streaming from the truck by 5am. It’s 4am now and already the gates at Gobblers Knob have been open for an hour.

By Chief Meteorologist, Mark Hoekzema

It seemed like a long trip, but we finally made it out to Gobblers Knob, the location where the Inner Circle will pull Phil from his stump to declare the future of winter as seen by Phil.

For me it was a very interesting first sight. Gobbler’s Knob is a somewhat open area surrounded by trees with a few small buildings.

The main attraction is the stump on a stage at the bottom of a small hill where Phil will be holed up in the hours before his emergence. This usually occurs shortly after 7:30am.

An open hillside is where thousands of people from around the region and also from around the country will congregate beginning at 3am.

We spent the two hours we were there setting up the Storm Truck and accessing live weather observations and camera images. We have a great site for a perfect view of the event on Wednesday morning.

It was trek long in the making and I am very excited about seeing the huge throng of people excitedly anticipating Phil.

As we left the hillside we noticed how dark the sky was and how many stars were visible. It seems like prime weather for Phil to see his shadow and declare six more weeks of winter…somehow, I think it might be better if Phil keeps his eyes closed and decides a mild end to winter is on the way.

By Meteorologist and Chief Chirp, Stephanie Blozy

Q.  Phil has some awfully large teeth.  Does he bite?
A.  Bill assures me that Phil is a friendly hog despite his tendency to nibble the person holding him if he wants down.  Bill explained to me that Groundhogs are vegetarians.  They eat mainly fruits, vegetables like leafy greens – not humans.  Phil’s favorite food is bananas, but the Zoo feeds him and his wife, Phyllis, vegetarian dog food.

One interesting tidbit is that the groundhog’s teeth never stop growing.  Fortunately, as the groundhog eats its roughage, their incisors are worn down.

Q.  How big is Phil’s burrow on Gobbler’s Knob?
A.  Phil only spends the night in his burrow inside a tree stump on Gobbler’s Knob one night a year (tonight).  His real home is at the Punxsutawney Zoo where he lives in a palatial burrow (12x14) with his wife Phyllis.  In this burrow, they have a stone pond with running water, a bathroom and two dens. 

Q.  Has Phil ever escaped?
A.  No, but during the year of the first firework’s display (sometime in the 1980’s), Phil got scared when the big boomers went off and started frantically digging.  When one of the Inner Circle members reached into the burrow to bring Phil out, he couldn’t find him because Phil had burrowed a good 18 inches down. 

Phil has also traveled to Washington, DC, to visit President Reagan and Chicago to guest appear on Oprah, but mainly Phil loves his life of luxury in Punxy and has vowed to never leave. 

By Meteorologist and Chief Chirp, Stephanie Blozy

Q.  What is Punx’y Phil’s Record?
A.  In the 119 years since Phil began his prognostications, he has seen his shadow 94 times, NOT seen his shadow 14 times and had 9 years (mainly in the late 1880’s and 1890’s) where he did not make a prediction due to various reasons. 

During Prohibition, Phil threatened to make winter last for 60 more weeks if he wasn’t allowed a drink.  In 1981, Phil wore a yellow ribbon in honor of the American hostages in Iran.  And in 2001, Phil’s prognostication was shown live in NYC’s Times Square.

As for Phil’s accuracy?  Bill says that it’s “100%...of course!”

Q.  Why does Phil and his other groundhog friends come out of their burrows in February?
A.  Bill says that groundhogs like Phil, come out of their burrows because they are hungry after their long winter hibernation and because they are looking for a little romance. 

Groundhog babies, also called kits or cubs, make their appearance in April and May after a 30-day gestational period.  Mommies have between 4 and 9 babies in each litter.  By July, the cubs are ready to go off on their own.

Q.  How big is Phil?
A.  During his last physical, Phil weighed 24 pounds and was 22 inches long.  This is a little on the heavy side as most wild groundhogs weigh between 12-15 pounds and are about 20 inches long.  Every new year, Phil resolves to lose those extra pounds, but forgets his resolution during his 4 month hibernation.  Bill says that holding Phil is like having a furry football.