SHADOW OF A DOUBT: Six More Weeks Of Winter?

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CNN: Punxsutawney Phil, America’s most famous rodent prognosticator, saw his shadow Tuesday, signaling six more weeks of winter. Phil emerged from his ceremonial tree stump at Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, to a cheering crowd that had waited in the cold for his annual prediction. It is the 99th time that Phil — in his various incarnations — has seen his shadow, according to groundhog.org, the official Web site of the groundhog club in Punxsutawney, about 75 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, in western Pennsylvania. Not seeing a shadow — something that has happened just 15 times in Phil’s history, according to the club — would have meant spring is around the corner. Phil’s predictions don’t mean much to human weather predictors, however. CNN meteorologist Chad Meyers, citing stormfax.com, said Phil is correct 39 percent of the time. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration goes even further, saying Phil has “no predictive skill.” MORE

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