
New York’s Groundhog Shocks The Competition—Phil’s Got Nothing On This One
February 2 - a day each year when a groundhog is pulled from his hole to decide whether or not we'll see 6 more weeks of winter. It's a tradition that's been going on for almost 140 years.
Punxsatawney Phil is the most famous Groundhog Day predictor. But he sure isn't the most accurate.
4 lesser-known rodents in New York are more likely to get it right, and one is the best of them all with an 85% accuracy rating.
Gobler's Knob Tradition
Punxsatawney Phil has been predicting the weather on February 2 from Gobler's Knob since 1887, making him the longest-running groundhog forecaster.
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wants to retire Punxsutawney Phil and replace him with...a vegan cake. Instead of a groundhog seeing his shadow, we’d cut into the cake to reveal blue or pink filling. So, Groundhog Day becomes less about weather and more about whether we’re throwing a seasonal baby shower.
Best Groundhog Predictors
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used data from the National Centers for Environmental Information to see which groundhog was the best at predicting how soon we'd see spring. And poor Phil is way down the list.
READ MORE: Famous Groundhogs You’ve Never Heard Of
Malverne Mel, Dunkirk Dave and Holtsville Hal are three groundhogs in New York that are going a better job at 50% accuracy rates. That's a lot better than Phil's 35%
The best forecaster of them all? Staten Island Chuck.
Staten Island Chuck
Staten Island Chuck, also known as Charles G. Hogg, calls the New York City Staten Island Zoo home. He's the best of the best, getting the Groundhog Day prediction right 85% of the time. He can be a bit temperamental though. He even bit the hand of the Mayor of New York City once.
You can check out the full groundhog prediction rankings at Noaa.gov.
Whatever Phil, Chuck or any other groundhog predicts, every Central New Yorker knows an early spring is a myth. It doesn't arrive in the Empire State until long after the official start to the season.

5 Animals Better at Predicting Weather in SBC Than a Groundhog
Gallery Credit: Gary McCoy
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