Shadow or no shadow? That is the question many people across the nation will be asking on Groundhog Day. If you’ve just about had it with winter weather, get up early on Friday, February 2, to watch Punxsutawney Phil make his annual prediction for an early spring or six more weeks of snow, ice, and bone-chilling temps.
The results of the famous groundhog’s prediction will be all over social media on Tuesday, but if you want to watch live video of Phil making his 2018 prognostication, set your alarm so you’re up in time to watch him emerge from his temporary home in Gobbler’s Knob located in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
Update : Phil saw his shadow and predicted 6 more weeks of winter.
Scroll down for information on Friday’s Groundhog Day live stream. And if you just happen to be in Pennsylvania and want to take a trip to Gobbler’s Knob to watch Punxsutawney Phil look for his shadow, the event is open to the public. Groundhog.org reports that gates open at 3 a.m. ET ahead of the prognostication that will happen at approximately 7:25 a.m.
How to watch the 2018 Groundhog Day event online:
In case you’re confused about the shadow/not shadow thing, folklore has it that if Phil sees his shadow, we’re in for six more weeks of winter. If not, spring will arrive early. Or so we hope.
Watch Friday morning’s live stream on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Free streaming video coverage on Visit PA will start at 6 a.m. ET, a little less than 90 minutes before Phil emerges to make his prediction on Friday.
Visit PA will also broadcast the Groundhog Day event via Facebook Live . If you don’t have time to watch the event online or on Facebook, follow @VisitPA on Twitter for the results of Punxsutawney Phil’s annual shadow search.
Head over to our Facebook page to join us live from Gobbler’s Knob on Friday, Feb. 2 and see #PunxsutawneyPhil give his 132nd #GroundhogDay prognostication at 6 a.m.! pic.twitter.com/fzWdRrpCoe
— visitPA (@visitPA) February 1, 2018
Friday, February 2, marks the 132nd time Punxsutawney Phil gives his annual weather prediction. According to History.com , the first Groundhog Day dates back to February 2, 1887, when newspaper editor Clymer Freas and a group of businessmen and groundhog hunters formed a group they called the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
The event is more formal these days. A group of locals, dressed in top hats and tuxedos, preside over the Groundhog Day festivities and announce Phil’s annual prediction.