Punxsutawney Phil forecasts 6 more weeks of winter

From staff and wire reports

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pennsylvania -- Punxsutawney Phil, the pudgy woodchuck that forecasts spring's arrival each year on Groundhog Day, was pulled from his hutch Friday and saw his shadow, which, as legend says, signals six more weeks of winter weather.

The world-famous critter, who emerges every February 2 from a burrow on Gobbler's Knob near Punxsutawney to look for his shadow, now shares the limelight with more than a half-dozen wily woodchuck rivals, from General Beauregard Lee of Georgia to Canada's Wiarton Willie and New York's Staten Island Chuck.

That's not counting Essex Ed of West Orange, New Jersey, or Phil and Corona Kate of the Queens Wildlife Center, who have all joined the fray within the past few years.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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