During the event, Phil is surrounded by men wearing top hats who are part of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
Their website states that they are there to “preserve and spread the myth of the great weather-predicting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.”
Over the last ten or so years, Phil’s forecasts have been quite accurate. The groundhog predicted an early spring three times and a longer winter three times between 2015 and 2020. Overall,
However, Phil has forecast six extra weeks of winter more than 100 times since 1887, according to the Associated Press. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,