Punxsutawney Phil brought some bad news Friday for those tired of the winter weather — six more weeks of winter.
The famous groundhog awoke from his hibernation early Friday morning at Gobbler’s Knob, where the 132-year old tradition of Groundhog Day is held. A crowd of Punxsutawney Phil’s fans awaited his shadowy premonition with signs in hand. His handler confirmed that the groundhog did see his shadow, issuing a prediction of six more weeks of winter, but how accurate is the tradition, really?
According to Meteorologist Rob Radzanowski of the National Weather Service in State College, it’s a fairly accurate prognostication.
“He’s right on track,” Radzanowski said of the insightful rodent. “The four-to-six week weather trend shows that temperatures will be below normal throughout Pennsylvania.”
While the trend shows below normal temperatures in Pennsylvania for the next month, McKean County will seem to follow a bit of its own trend — and it is quite the rollercoaster.
“Friday we saw below 0 degree winds, but for today and Sunday we’ll see temperatures rise about 25 degrees,” Radzanowski said.
According to Radzanowski, the inconsistent weather pattern will continue through the week. Temperatures will drop on Monday and Tuesday, warm up for Wednesday and Thursday, only to fall back down over the weekend. That trend will continue throughout the six-week period that both Punxsutawney Phil and Radzanowski predicted in their forecasts.
Some Bradford residents don’t seem to be surprised about six more weeks of winter. Many have already started planning accordingly.
“Even though I’m not looking forward to the cold, I am happy that I have an excuse to stay home and bundle up,” said Meghan Yearwood, a student at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. “I’ll have to stock up on hot chocolate and make a movie list until it passes.”
Matthew Hileman, manager at the Marilyn Horne Museum in Bradford, said he was excited for more time in the winter weather, especially if it snows.
“I know it may be odd to say, but I’m happy to see the winter stick around,” he said. “I’m an avid skier, so more winter usually means more snow. It can’t get any better than that. ”
