Will we have an early spring? Or will there be a longer winter? Here's a look at how Punxsutawney Phil has called it over the years.

NOAA set a few ground rules. The groundhogs and "alternative groundhogs" must have been prognosticating for at least 20 years and must also have been active as of Feb. 2, 2024. The competitors included 13 groundhogs, three taxidermied groundhogs, one never-seen creature presumed to be a groundhog, a prairie dog statue and a tortoise.

The groundhogs — along with a tortoise, whose emergence from his winter hibernation foretells the coming of spring, and a prairie dog statue, whose shadow at sunrise predicts how long it will be until spring arrives — were ranked based on their accuracy over the past 20 years, using the March temperature averages for the U.S., NOAA said.

Punxsutawney Phil may be the best-known weather-predicting groundhog, but a new list is throwing shade on how much his predictions should be trusted — while New York City’s rodent prognosticator is tops in the country.

Every February 2 all of the attention is on Punxsutawney, in particular Gobbler's Knob, to see if a famous groundhog will predict an early spring or six more weeks of winter.

There is only one Punxsutawney Phil, but many challengers to his throne. How accurate are they? These weather experts decided to find out.

Punxsutawney Phil is adorable, but a woodchuck from New York has him beat for accuracy, according to NOAA weather data analysis.

Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil might be the most known weather-predicting groundhog, but a new study is throwing shade on how much his predictions should be trusted. Phil did so poorly that taxidermied critters are better at forecasting an early spring.

So, how accurate is Punxsutawney Phil? Records show that Phil is not quite the prognosticator of prognosticators that legends purport him to be.