Punxsutawney Phil
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Hi, I'm Dave Thurlow and this is The Weather Notebook. When you think of Groundhog's Day, you probably think of Punxatawny Phil, the famous forecasting rodent from Punxatawny, PA. The idea is that if Phill sees his shadow on Groundhog day morning, then six more weeks of winter weather is assured. Bill Cooper, President of the Groundhog Club in Punxatawny told me recently what Phil's role is in the celebration of Groundhog Day.

BC: "We take him up on Gobblers Knob where there's a large Oak stump, with a burrow and a door on it and he resides there for 24 hours before Groundhog Day and then we come knocking, bring him forth, set him on the stump and interpret what he has to say."

DT: "I've seen the pictures of the ground hog actually speaking into somebody's ear. Is that you?"

BC: "Yes."

DT: "Now I don't want to give away any of your secrets, but how do you understand groundhog?"

BC: "It's something that's passed down from president to president. It's called groundhogese and it's basically an interpretation of wiggles, twitches, whistles, grunts He's not the world's greatest orator, but he gets the job done."

Now, before you start thinking the air is a little thin in Punxatawny, keep in mind that up to 30,000 people visit Gobblers Knob each year on Groundhog's Day, a testimony to this tradition's survival.

BC: "It's survived because it serves the same purpose today as it served 113 years ago here in western Pennsylvania. Back then winters tended to be long and bleak. And you didn't need much of an excuse to get out and about and socialize with your neighbors. And Groundhog Day was the perfect fit to help break up the winter blues."

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