Photo: Steve Wrzeszczynski on Unsplash.com

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - February 2, 2026

On February 2, 2026, the tradition of Groundhog Day continued as tens of thousands of spectators gathered in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where he saw his shadow, signifying an additional six weeks of winter. As part of the ceremony, Punxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog, is summoned from his simulated burrow at dawn (this year, at 7:25 a.m. ET in -3F temperatures). If he sees his shadow, as is the case this year, an additional six weeks of winter are predicted. If he doesn't see his shadow, it is predicted that there will be an early spring. 

The tradition has been shaped by various cultural events. One began with the European Candlemas festival, in which clergy would bless candles for the remaining winter months. A German iteration of this custom introduced the concept of an "animal weather prophet," originally featuring a hedgehog or a badger. According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, they found that groundhogs were more prevalent than the animals used in Europe, leading to the selection of the woodchuck as the "official forecaster." The first celebration of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PA, was in 1886. 

Of course, for those of us in the great north, winter persists long into the start of the year. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), climate data collected between 1991 and 2020 indicate that the average date of the last frost in Cook County typically falls between the middle and end of May.