Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Early Spring

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) _ A new pair of hands pulled him from his stump this year, so it was only fitting that Punxsutawney Phil offered a new prediction. <br/><br/>The groundhog did not see his shadow

Friday, February 2nd 2007, 6:39 am

By: News On 6

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) _ A new pair of hands pulled him from his stump this year, so it was only fitting that Punxsutawney Phil offered a new prediction.

The groundhog did not see his shadow Friday which, according to German folklore, means folks can expect an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter.

Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 14 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The last time Phil failed to see his shadow was in 1999.

More than 15,000 revelers danced or milled about in a misty snow waiting for the prediction, as fireworks exploded overhead and the ``Pennsylvania Polka'' and other music blared in the background.

Longtime handler Bill Deeley retired after more than a dozen years and was replaced Friday by Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle members John Griffiths and Ben Hughes.

Each Feb. 2, thousands of people descend on Punxsutawney, a town of approximately 6,100 people about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, to celebrate what had essentially been a German superstition.

The Germans believed that if a hibernating animal cast a shadow on Feb. 2 _ the Christian holiday of Candlemas _ winter would last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early.