BVA members and their families throughout the country may be able to look forward to a quick end to winter weather, at least according to the semi-mythical groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil who woke up and did not see his shadow earlier today. The much-heralded event, an actual ceremony in front of thousands of spectators and a national audience viewing early morning network news programming, took place in the town of Punxsutawney on the western side of Pennsylvania. 

Groundhog Day, a tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year, comes from a Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will return to its den and winter weather will continue for six more weeks. If the groundhog does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early.

BVA Happenings recommends a dose of skepticism and contained optimism about today’s result. While the Groundhog Day tradition seems to be gaining even greater notoriety as a fun and comic news event while attempting to give Punxsutawney Phil some validity and credibility, serious research has found no consistent association between a groundhog’s shadow at dawn, or lack thereof, and the arrival of spring-like weather!