Witness the furry weather forecasters in action as we celebrate Groundhog Day across the United States. From Punxsutawney Phil to Staten Island Chuck, join us as we watch these groundhogs emerge from their burrows and predict the arrival of spring.
It's the midwinter moment we've been anticipating: Sunday is Groundhog Day , the day we discover if Punxsutawney Phil spots his shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter, or fails to see it, hinting at an early spring. FOX's LiveNow will broadcast Groundhog Day festivities from across the United States, starting at 6 a.m. ET on Sunday, February 2nd. You can watch the live coverage in the video player above.
Punxsutawney Phil, residing near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, will have his handlers reveal his weather forecast early Sunday morning, indicating whether there will be six more weeks of winter ahead. From 7:30 a.m. ET onwards, the festivities continue with Holtsville Hal’s Famous Forecast in Brookhaven, New York, where Brookhaven Superintendent Daniel P. Losquadro will announce Holtsville Hal's prediction. Simultaneously, in Jackson, Georgia, General Beauregard 'Beau' Lee, Georgia’s Official Weather Prognosticator, will make his prediction at Dauset Trails Nature Center. At 8 a.m. ET, Staten Island Chuck, the Staten Island Zoo's renowned groundhog, will participate in his annual Groundhog Day ceremony, open to the public with gates opening at 7:30 a.m. and the ceremony commencing at 8 a.m. Chuck's prediction will be made at 8:30 a.m. In Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, at 8 a.m. ET, Jimmy the Groundhog, with an exceptionally high accuracy rate on his annual predictions, takes center stage as the grand finale of the Sun Prairie annual Frozen Fest. The practice of observing an animal's emergence from winter hibernation to forecast weather has historical roots in similar German traditions involving badgers or bears. Pennsylvania Germans, who settled in the region, apparently adopted the groundhog, a native animal found in the eastern and midwestern United States. Historians have discovered a reference in an 1841 diary to groundhog weather forecasts in early February among families of German descent in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, according to the late Don Yoder, a University of Pennsylvania professor whose 2003 book about Groundhog Day explored the Celtic connection. Yoder concluded that the festival stems from 'ancient, undoubtedly prehistoric, weather lore.' The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, established in 1899, cares for Phil and his woodchuck family in a specialized space beside Punxsutawney Memorial Library, featuring a window overlooking their burrow. The Punxsutawney groundhog makes predictions, but his reliability is not always guaranteed. In 1929, the designated groundhog emerged before sunrise, and in 1941, it didn't appear until late afternoon. The 1993 Bill Murray movie 'Groundhog Day' sparked a resurgence of interest, leading to concerns about unruly crowds in 1995. In 1998, a groundhog club leader wearing a $4,000 groundhog suit reported being assaulted by a group of young men. Consequently, alcohol is now prohibited at Gobbler’s Knob, Phil's designated location, approximately 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh
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