Had enough of the polar vortex? Let’s see what Punxsutawney Phil has to say

Punxsutawney Phil, there’s a whole lot of people counting on you to bring some good news this weekend.

Frigid Arctic air has invaded much of the U.S. thanks to a polar vertex, and about 224 million people are living in below-freezing conditions, according to NBC news.

So, it’s no surprise that many are ready to “hear” what the weather-predicting groundhog in Pennsylvania has to “say.”

Legend says that if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, a “second winter” with six more weeks of “bad weather” will come, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. If he doesn’t see his shadow, winter will end and spring will begin, legend says.

“The famous groundhog is always right,” PennLive reported. “Sometimes, however, his predictions are mistranslated from Groundhogese to English, leading some people to believe he has gotten it wrong once or twice.

Last year, he was right, according to the site. He predicted 6 more weeks of winter, and “while a slightly warmer than average February made us all skeptical of his accuracy, March was decidedly colder than usual.”

But just how realistic is it that the famous groundhog won’t see his shadow on Saturday, Feb. 2?

Well, Punxsutawney Phil almost always predicts a longer winter, according to the Stormfax Weather Almanac, NJ.com reported.

But this year, there’s hope the groundhog will predict an early spring, according to The Weather Channel.

“When Phil emerges from his burrow Saturday morning, the current forecast is cloudy and cold in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania,” The Weather Channel reported. “Cloudy skies would suggest the groundhog probably won’t see his shadow, which would indicate an early spring.”

The National Weather Service forecasts that Saturday in Punxsutawney will be “mostly cloudy.” AccuWeather predicts “clouds and sun” on the morning of Groundhog Day.

There are still a couple days for the forecast to change, of course, but people on Twitter are anxious to see Phil (but not his shadow).

“Groundhog Day ... don’t let me down bro,” one person tweeted. “let spring come early.”

“I have never in my life looked forward to what the ridiculous ground hog has to say,” another tweet says. “But this time I am DYING to know.”

“Hopefully the Groundhog does not see his shadow and all this winteryness can turn into a beautiful spring very soon,” said another.

“Reading stories about Groundhog Day and chanting ‘Bring on Spring‘ after this crazy week of weather,” another wrote.

Phil will make his prediction at about 7:28 a.m. Saturday at the Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

This story was originally published January 31, 2019 at 11:04 AM.