Live Groundhog Day 2025: Punxsutawney Phil’s winter prediction

For the 139th time, Punxsutawney Phil will take his stance on winter weather from Gobbler’s Knob.The beloved groundhog will be summoned from his tree stump Sunday just after 7:26 a.m. to check if he can see his shadow. We are live. Watch the video in the player above. WHO ARE THE INNER CICLE | PHIL VS. METEOROLOGISTS | HOW ACCURATE IS PHIL?According to folklore, there will be six more weeks of winter if he sees his shadow. If he doesn’t, spring comes early.The year 1886 marked the first time Groundhog Day appeared in the local newspaper in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The tradition continued to grow and is now celebrated all over the world.Gov. Shaprio: Weather Cake? No Way, Phil’s Here to StayPennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has a message for PETA, Punxsutawney Phil isn’t going anywhere. Shapiro once again made an appearance at Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney Sunday. Prior to the beloved groundhog’s winter prediction, he addressed PETA’s want to replace Phil with a vegan cake.”I don’t know if you heard about this, but there are some folks who are coming for Phil,” Shapiro said to boos at the large crowd in Punxsutawney. “There are some folks out there that said we should take this great tradition, that stretches all the way back to the 1880s and replace him with a cake. Hear me on this Punxsutawney, if anybody comes for Phil, they’re going to have to come through me and all of you!”Groundhog Day rivalry: The contendersPhil isn’t the only groundhog making predictions on Groundhog Day. In New York, there are multiple groundhog predictors, like Staten Island Chuck, and Dunkirk Dave. Unlike the very much alive Phil, the taxidermized Octorara Orphie makes a prediction in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. In 2024 Orphie predicted more winter, disagreeing with Phil’s decision that there would be an early spring. Don’t have a groundhog? In Nevada there is Mojave Max, a tortoise whose weather prediction accuracy sits at only 25% according to an article by NOAA. But where does Phil stand? Unfortunately only a little bit above Max at 35% accuracy. That is all according to NOAA however. State Island Chuck allegedly has the best track record at 85%, however we’ll stick with Phil. While NOAA has deemed our Phil not the most accurate, they do admit he is a beloved legend and national celebrity, as well as the longest-running weather forecasting groundhog. We’ll take it. Want the full list of groundhog predictors, click here. A look at 2024’s predictionLast year, when Phil was summoned by the ‘inner circle’ from his stump and didn’t see his shadow. A prediction that said an early spring was on it’s way. Thousands of people came out very early to see the weather prediction, which meant good business for the small town in Jefferson County.“We have 6,000 people that live here, and it swells to 20 or 30,000,” said Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce President Katie Laska. “You can just imagine the impact that it has on our economy here.”According to records dating back to 1887, Phil has predicted winter more than 100 times. Ten years were lost because no records were kept, organizers said.