Did the Groundhog See His Shadow in 2010? Yes He Did

Did the groundhog see his shadow in 2010? It was answered when the groundhog indeed saw his shadow for 2010. Punxsutawney Phil disappointed the annual crowd at Gobbler's Knob by announcing that there would be six more weeks of winter. For those sick of the cold, since the groundhog did see his shadow in 2010, they are not happy campers right now. However, that depends on whether Phil is really as accurate as ever.

Groundhog Day came in 2010 with some national competition. This was also the day where the Oscar nominations were announced, and when Lost will air its long awaited final season premiere. This year, the question of 'did the groundhog see his shadow in 2010?' may not have been the biggest in pop culture today.

But for those at Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney Phil is still the biggest star of the day, no matter what else is out there. So today, he carried on his business and looked hard for his shadow. Unfortunately, he may have looked too hard, as he made it clear that there are six more weeks of winter left.

This is the third straight year that Phil has seen his shadow, so the ceremony hasn't had a real happy ending in a while - at least for those fans of the sun. Yet as always, skeptics have to ask whether a groundhog, even one like Punxsutawney Phil, has a real sense of the weather to come.

Although those in Punxsutawney say that Phil is always right, other studies say that he is less perfect. In fact, the accuracy is as low as 37%, according to some reports. Of course, such findings take the fun out of Groundhog Day, even if it gives new hope to those who don't like Phil's predictions.

Did the groundhog see his shadow, and does it matter? No matter what, the answer to the first part is yes. The answer to the second part depends on how much someone believes - though even those who do believe Phil were likely storing up for a long winter anyway.

Now that Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow in 2010, he can rest up until 2011. His hibernation will go on as scheduled, even as the likes of PETA protest that it was disturbed to begin with. But now that Punxsutawney and the world have heard from Phil, they will leave him alone until next February 2, so he can plan his 2011 shadow search in peace.

Sources

WTOP.com- "Punxsutawney Phil predicts more winter"

The Canadian Encyclopedia- "Groundhog Day"

Wall Street Journal- "Groundhog Day 2010: Is The Economy Coming Out Of Its Hole?"