Should We Trust Punxsutawney Phil? 

February 4, 2026 /

By: Aiva Mann 

February 2nd is the one day of the year when it’s socially acceptable for rodents across America to become meteorologists. Every year, when Groundhog Day rolls around, people turn to a small Pennsylvanian borough to see the most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. The tradition started in 1886 and is rooted in a mixture of both Christian and pagan German lore but has since become a pop-culture staple of the American populace. Although Phil the Groundhog is the most well-known, is he the best? With the popularity of this holiday, many states across the U.S. have adopted their own Punxsutawney Phil, including 

  •  Staten Island Chuck (NY) 
  •  General Beauregard Lee (GA) 
  • Lander Lil (WY) 
  • Concord Charlie (WV) 

And 70 more (GOUNDHOG-DAY.com.) With a bit more research we were able to find accuracy ratings for all the competing groundhogs across the state, here is how they rank 

  1. Staten Island Chuck, 85% 
  1. Lander Lil, 80% 
  1. General Beauregard Lee, 75% 
  1. Concord Charlie, 70% 

With the one and only Punxsutawney Phil tying for 17th place with Woody the Woodchuck (MI) both scoring a 35% for accuracy. But we may have to cut Phil some slack considering he has been predicting the weather of our future for 131 years. That’s almost 4 times longer than the leading Staten Island Chuck who has only been around for the past 31 years. However, both Groundhogs have deemed that winter will continue for 6 more weeks, so whichever Groundhog you choose to believe makes sure you stay warm for the remainder of winter. 

Sources:

“Grading the Groundhogs.” Noaa.gov, 28 Jan. 2025, www.noaa.gov/heritage/stories/grading-groundhogs.

“Groundhogs in the USA — GROUNDHOG-DAY.com.” Groundhog-Day.com, 2026, groundhog-day.com/groundhogs-in-usa. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.