Tag Archives: Punxsutawney Phil

March 29, 2013 · 9:38 am

Groundhog to be Prosecuted?

Groundhog Slay: Prosecutor seeks death penalty for Punxsutawney Phil

Published March 22, 2013

Has Punxsutawney Phil given his last forecast?A prosecutor in Ohio is reportedly seeking the death penalty for the famous rodent who emerged from his home in Gobbler’s Knob, Pa., on Feb. 2 and did not see his shadow, translating to an “early spring,” according to his handlers. But Michael Gmoser, prosecuting attorney in Butler County, said Thursday that Phil’s inaccurate forecast warrants capital punishment, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

“Let’s face it, Punxsutawney Phil has let us down,” Gmoser said, tongue firmly in cheek, after filing the necessary court documents. “I awoke this morning to a snowstorm, low temperatures and howling wind.”

“Maybe it’s time for a Phyllis instead.”

– Butler County (Ohio) Prosecutor Michael Gmoser 

Spring began Wednesday, but local forecasts in the Pittsburgh area and throughout Pennsylvania show a good chance of snow this weekend and into next week.

“We in Butler County, like everyone in the nation, depend on Phil to give us a breath of spring in time,” Gmoser said. “You know, Phil lives his life behind bars as it is. This is the only penalty available. Maybe it’s time for a Phyllis instead.”

But Jeffrey Lundy, vice president of the Punxsutawney Ground Hog Club, said Gmoser will have a fight on his hands if he tries to arrest the famous groundhog.

“He’s going to have to go through 15 licensed hunters to get to Phil,” said Lundy, referring to members of the club’s inner circle.“We’ll find out how good of a prosecutor [Gmoser] is. If he doesn’t know how to speak groundhog-ese, he’ll never understand a word Phil says.”

Gmoser said a reprieve is possible.

“There may be some mitigating circumstances I may not know about,” he continued. “Phil may not know his rear from a hole in the ground. That might make a difference,” said Gmoser, who decided to file the court papers to break the tension at the end of a hard day in the office.

Lundy added: “There’s a lot of things to get serious about. Groundhog Day is not one of them.”

The famous groundhog narrowly escaped death in the 1993 film “Groundhog Day,” in which star Bill Murray, sentenced to relive the same day over and over until he became a better person, kidnapped Phil and drove off a cliff into a rock quarry with the terrified critter on his lap. However, the next day, Murray’s character, Phil Connors, awoke unscathed – as did Punxsutawney Phil.

Click for more from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/22/ohio-prosecutor-reportedly-seeking-death-penalty-for-punxsutawney-phil/?intcmp=trending#ixzz2Ote3DOJr

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February 2, 2013 · 12:32 pm

Early Spring Says Punxsutawney Phil

Famous weather animal and forecaster, and one time movie star Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early end to Winter this year.  Though his looking for his own shadow technique, reminiscent of Peter Pan, still has many skeptics.  Nonetheless, Phil simply twitched his whiskers at critics and stuck with his prediction.

The ‘Seer of Seers’ Predicts Early End to Winter

Weather prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t see his shadow 

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS


Weather-predicting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil is held by Groundhog Club co-handler John Griffiths Saturday in Punxsutawney, Pa. AP Photo.

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) – An end to winter’s bitter cold will come soon, according to Pennsylvania’s famous groundhog.

Following a recent stretch of weather that’s included both record warm temperatures and bitter cold, tornadoes in the South and Midwest, torrential rains in the mid-Atlantic and high winds in the Northeast, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his lair Saturday in front of thousands in west-central Pennsylvania but didn’t see his shadow.

Legend has it that if the furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2 on Gobbler’s Knob, winter will last six more weeks. But if he doesn’t see his shadow, spring will come early.

The prediction is made during a ceremony overseen by a group called the Inner Circle. Members don top hats and tuxedos for the ceremony on Groundhog Day each year.


Bill Deeley, president of the Inner Circle, says that after “consulting” with Phil, he makes the call in deciphering what the world’s Punxsutawney Phil has to say about the weather.

Phil is known as the “seer of seers” and “sage of sages.” Organizers predicted about 20,000 people this weekend, a larger-than-normal crowd because Groundhog Day falls on a weekend this year.

“I just hope he’s right and we get warmer weather soon,” said Mike McKown, 45, an X-ray technician who drove up from Lynchburg, Va., with his mother.

Phil’s got company in the forecasting department. There’s Staten Island Chuck, in New York; General Beauregard Lee, in Atlanta; and Wiarton Willie, in Wiarton, Ontario, among others noted by the National Climactic Data Center “Groundhog Day” Web page.

“Punxsutawney can’t keep something this big to itself,” the Data Center said. “Other prognosticating rodents are popping up to claim a piece of the action.”

Phil is the original – and the best, Punxsutawney partisans insist.

RELATED ON SKYE: Can a Groundhog Really Predict When Spring Will Arrive?

The 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray brought even more notoriety to the Pennsylvania party. The record attendance was about 30,000 the year after the movie’s release, said Katie Donald, executive director of the Groundhog Club. About 13,000 attend if Feb. 2 falls on a weekday.

Phil’s predictions, of course, are not always right on. Last year, for example, he told people to prepare for six more weeks of winter, a minority opinion among his groundhog brethren. The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University later listed that January to June as the warmest seven-month period since systematic records began being kept in 1895.

“We’ll just mark it up as a mistake last year. He’ll be correct this year,” McKown said hopefully.

PHOTOS ON SKYE: Punxsutawney Phil Predicts the Weather 

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