Phil, the groundhog we all know and love, emerged from his vacation home in Gobblers Knob, saw his shadow and returned to his hole. This indicates that we will be in for six more weeks of winter. Well, we’re well into the weeks following his prediction, and it’s clear that so far he has been pretty spot-on with his prediction. But how often is that the case?

Believe it or not, Phil himself has a 35% rate of correctness. If Phil is not doing it, then who is? There are many groundhogs that make predictions each year. Phil only ranks 17th amongst 19 weather predictions. Surprisingly the top-ranked groundhog is Staten Island Chuck with an 85%  rate of correctness. But how long has this multiple groundhog situation been going on? Since 1886, they have been using different groundhogs once old ones pass away, however, it is not clear when they started using multiple groundhogs at the same time. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club however claims that Phill is immortal, and he has never been replaced and is believed to be 139 years of age. No matter what you believe, the tradition is one that has been heavily celebrated for over a hundred years, and we’re here for it! Regardless of if Phil truly does have this “elixir of life” and is immortal or not, the Dutch tradition has cemented its place in this country’s history.