Despite overcast skies, Paunxsutawney Phil, the world’s most famous woodchuck, emerged from his home in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and promptly saw his shadow, giving us another 6 weeks of Winter.

Phil gave his prediction at 7:25 am amid overcast skies and snow squalls that were moving through the region, and gave the same weather forecast as last year.

In 2013, P.P. gave a prognostication of an early spring, but winter cold would continue to scour the nation well into March that year.

The poor 2013 prediction on PP’s part would put him into hot water for a short time. An Ohio prosecuting attorney would seek the death penalty for Phil for his “Misrepresentation of an early Spring.”  The case was short-lived after it was found by another Ohio attorney that Ohio lacked jurisdiction in the case.

Perhaps it was that near brush with the law that persuaded PP to give the safer prediction of more winter.

The odds of Punxsutawney Phil not seeing his shadow are daunting, he has only not seen his shadow 17 times since he began his prognostications in 1887. Overwhelmingly, he tends to see his shadow, dooming the population to more winter. In 128 years, records show he has called for more winter 101 times. For nine of the years, records of his predictions have come up missing.

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