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Punxsutawney Phil
A little nonsense and a 4-Day forecast
So what can you say about the last couple of weeks, other than it’s
been cold and we’ve had everything from fog patches and drizzle at 32
degrees, to ice and snow that generally made life miserable?
We’ve had some great photos sent to us… check them out. Does that help?
We’ve had more snow days this year – and February’s only just started –
than we’ve had the entire year in the recent past. Do Darke County
students even remember how to get to school anymore?
Last Wednesday, the gopher – oops, I meant groundhog – in Punxsutawney,
PA came out of his hole and saw no shadow. His name is “Phil” if that
means anything. They even made a movie about him, it, whatever. It
started Bill Murray and was kind of cute. The first time.
At any rate, that’s supposed to mean an early spring. Can’t come too
soon for me.
This is the legend, according to Wikipedia:
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United
States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a
groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the
burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end. If it is
sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back
into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more
weeks.
Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning
festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow. In
southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (Grundsow Lodges) celebrate
the holiday with fersommlinge, social events in which food is served,
speeches are made, and one or more g'spiel (plays or skits) are
performed for entertainment. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the
only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a
penalty, usually in the form of a nickel, dime or quarter, per word
spoken, put into a bowl in the center of the table.
The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney,
Pennsylvania. Groundhog Day, already a widely recognized and popular
tradition, received worldwide attention as a result of the 1993 film of
the same name, Groundhog Day, which was set in Punxsutawney and
featured Punxsutawney Phil.
Okay. Now that we have that out of the way, here’s the 4-day forecast
from weather.com:
Today: Snow showers, High 29, Low 14, Wind NW at 11 mph. Tuesday:
Partly Cloudy, High 18, Low 8, Wind WNW at 13 mph. Wednesday: Cloudy,
High 18, Low 0, Wind W at 9 mph. Thursday: Partly Cloudy, High 19, Low
4, Wind W at 7 mph.
In other words, more miserable weather in the foreseeable future. Stay
warm.
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