Image: National Geographic

 

BY CHRISTINE KARSTEN

 

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

 

Is Punxsutawney (puhnk-suh-TAW'-nee) Phil losing his touch? Groundhog Day, it’s a long-running tradition. Some people wake up looking for answers, but Thursday those answers might not be so clear. CNN reports.

 

“Phil proclaimed, as I look at the crowd on gobblers knob, many shadows do I see, 6 more weeks of winter it must be.”

 

But in New York City, another groundhog is predicting something a little different. Here’s NY1.

 

“The city's most famous groundhog - Staten Island Chuck made his annual prediction this morning. He did not see his shadow, meaning we should be in for an early spring.”

 

And — lest we forget — there’s yet another indicator: the calendar. Spring doesn’t officially start until March 20th. And KMSB reminds us — Punxsutawney Phil isn’t always right.

 
“Since 1887, there’s been a couple years in between when there wasn’t an official record of whether he saw his shadow or not. Phil’s forecast accuracy is 39%. (FLASH) So Phil is ore or less wrong most of the time.”
 
But a Washington Post blogger questions just how accurate anyone can be when it comes to predictions.
 
“He's a groundhog, for Pete's sake. How can he tell if winter will endure or spring wil appear? Then again, Americans spend a lot of their time listenting to hairy individuals making predictions that they are in no way qualified to make."

 

 

World News

Groundhog Day 2012 Results in Mixed Predictions

February 2, 2012
(1:28)
On Groundhog Day, two groundhogs saw different things. One saw its shadow while the other didn't. But really how accurate can they be?
   
TRANSCRIPT

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