Groundhog Day 2011.

Punxsutawney Phil is one weatherman that everyone agrees is all style and no science, but he still manages to draw a crowd and the nation's attention on Feb. 2.


Each year the town of Punxsutawney, Pa., emerges to bask in the glow as everyone tunes in to see if the famous groundhog prognosticator will see his shadow on Groundhog Day.

The myth goes another six weeks of winter weather is on its way if the groundhog sees his shadow as dawn breaks. No shadow means an early spring.

Phil's prediction will be seen at about 7:25 a.m. ET on Wednesday and will be simulcast on visitPA.com .

Wikipedia.com stated that the holiday Groundhog Day was a German custom in Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries. It possibly has origins in ancient European weather lore, though prior legends gave the prognosticating job to a badger or a sacred bear, not a groundhog.

There are also other similarities including the medieval Catholic holiday of Candlemas and the Pagan festival of Imbolc, the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar that comes between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

The blog The Holiday Spot credits newspaper editor Clymer H. Freas and American Congressman W. Smith with launching the yearly festival in Punxsutawney in the late 1800s.

Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil's official website , said Phil has been doing his thing since 1887.

He has seen his shadow 99 out of 114 times, reported The Christian Science Monitor . Stormfax Almanac gives him a somewhat poor grade, stating he has been right only 39 percent of the time.

That doesn't stop thousands of people from showing up to watch the show.

Punxsutawney Phil also has his competitors including Buckeye Chuck, Ohio's official weather prognosticator since 1979. Chuck makes his appearance in the woods behind the studios of radio station WMRN in Marion, Ohio, as part of a tradition launched by former radio personality Charlie Evers.

The event includes SPAM sandwiches, so as to include the ground hog with the groundhog.

Local folklore includes that one Groundhog Day also included a stuffed groundhog when that year's Buckeye Chuck died shortly before his time in the spotlight.

There are others as reported by AOL News including Staten Island Chuck, who bit New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2009.

Groundhogs aren't the only ones in the spotlight as the Orlando Sentinel reported tortoise-and-hare duo Mount Dora Mike and Mount Dora Millie are the prognosticating stars in Florida.