PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Tens of thousands of people are gathering for Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog that lives in a tree stump, to predict if the already long and cold winter across much of the United States will go on for another six weeks or if an early spring is around the corner.
The meteorological marmot's predictions on Monday are pretty straightforward, although his top-hatted handlers in the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club insist Phil’s “groundhogese” of winks, purrs, chatters and nods are also being interpreted.
When Phil is said to have seen his shadow upon emergence from a tree stump in rural Pennsylvania, that’s considered a forecast for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, an early spring is said to be on the way.
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Lisa Gibson was in Punxsutawney to attend Groundhog Day for the 10th time, wearing a lighted hat that resembled the tree stump from which Phil would emerge shortly after daybreak.
“Oh man, it just breaks up the doldrums of winter,” said Gibson, accompanied by her husband -- dressed up as Elvis Presley -- and teenage daughter. “It’s like Halloween and New Year’s Eve all wrapped up into one holiday.”
Gibson, a resident of Pittsburgh, was rooting for Phil to not see his shadow and therefore predict an early start to spring. She was there to “have a good time, and bring on that early spring.”
Among the revelers streaming to the site early Monday was India Kirssin, there to celebrate her 27th birthday with a group drawn from Ohio and Washington, D.C.
Kirssin said it was her second Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney -- the first was on her 10th birthday.
“Everybody’s in a good mood, it seems like,” Kirssen said, holding a customized sign.
She floated the plan to return this year back in November: “It all came together last minute.”
Groundhogs are herbivores that are themselves edible to humans, although they are not widely consumed.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission says about 36,000 hunters reported killing more than 200,000 groundhogs last year.
Game Commission spokesperson Travis Lau found groundhog a bit stinky to clean and thick-skinned, but “actually really good” and “more like beef than venison.”
Some cooks advise that groundhogs are best taken when they are young and after clover is in bloom, since a clover diet is thought to improve the meat’s taste.
A couple hundred people are expected to gather Monday afternoon in Bee Cave, located just west of Austin, to watch an armadillo named Bee Cave Bob.
Mike Burke, who helped start the annual tradition, believes an armadillo “knows a whole lot more about what’s going on than some rodent.”
Their ceremony also includes watching to see if the animal sees his shadow, but they aren’t opposed to improvising a little to make sure the crowd goes home happy. “A lot of the times when it’s been kind of a crummy winter, we’ll predict early spring no matter what,” he said.
Some well-meaning efforts have sought to determine Phil’s accuracy, but what “six weeks of winter” means is debatable. By all accounts, the furry prognosticator predicts more winter far more often than he predicts an early spring.
And claims that a groundhog has or has not seen its shadow — and that it’s able to communicate that to a human — are also fair territory for skeptics and the humor-impaired.
Among the skeptics is the National Centers for Environmental Information, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The government agency last year compared Phil’s record with U.S. national temperatures over the prior decade and concluded he was right only 40% of the time.
Punxsutawney is an area that Pennsylvania Germans settled — and in the late 1880s started celebrating the holiday by picnicking, hunting and eating groundhogs.
Members of Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, organized in 1899, care for Phil at a customized space beside Punxsutawney Memorial Library — where there’s a window with a view into the creature’s burrow.
The annual ritual at Gobbler’s Knob goes back more than a century, with ties to ancient farming traditions in Europe. Punxsutawney’s festivities have grown considerably since the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray.
Groundhog Day falls on Feb. 2, the midpoint between the shortest, darkest day of the year on the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It’s a time of year that also figures in the Celtic calendar and the Christian holiday of Candlemas.
Toni Massey, of Bismack, N.D., right, celebrates while waiting for Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, to come out and make his prediction during the 140th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
George Morar, of Youngstown, Ohio., celebrates while waiting for Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, to come out and make his prediction during the 140th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
LONDON (AP) — There's finally a serious threat to the France and Ireland dominion over the Six Nations.
England has come on for the first time since its last title in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team is riding an 11-game winning streak, in which the highlight was beating New Zealand 33-19 in November. It ended the All Blacks' grand slam hopes and sealed the exit of New Zealand coach Scott Robertson.
A resurgent team with British and Irish Lions on the bench and brimming with X-factor in Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Henry Pollock has prompted coach Steve Borthwick, normally cautious, to talk up their climactic last-round showdown with defending champion France in Paris.
“On 14 March ... we want to be in a position in that game to get what we all want to achieve,” Borthwick told the BBC.
England is vulnerable, though. Its last test of 2025 against Argentina was an aerial dogfight that wasn't clinched until the Pumas bungled a last-minute throw-in.
France and Ireland have shared the last four Six Nations titles and anticipation of their matchup this year will be resolved in the opening game, the first Thursday kickoff in championship history to avoid the Milan Cortina Olympics opening ceremony.
France is the favorite thanks to an ideal schedule — home games against Ireland and England — the return of inspirational captain Antoine Dupont, and the strength of the Top 14, home of the last five European club champions.
But France's autumn campaign raised questions: It was outsmarted and overpowered by 14-man South Africa and notched unconvincing wins against Fiji and a depleted Australia.
Coach Fabien Galthié has appeared to accept their struggles while transitioning the team for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
He shocked by dropping unhurried record try-scorer Damian Penaud, workhorse vice-captain Grégory Alldritt and 98-cap filler Gaël Fickou. From Uini Atonio's sudden retirement due to heart issues and an injury list including Romain Ntamack, Paul Boudehent and Nolann Le Garrec, Galthié sees opportunity rather than jeopardy.
He's highlighted novice backs Théo Attissogbe, Kalvin Gourgues and Fabien Brau-Boirie and uncapped flanker Lenni Nouchi, who is the oldest of the four at 22. “These prospects need to play,” Galthié said. “They need the chance to make mistakes.”
Then there's Dupont and the precious reassurance he gives every team he plays for that everything will be OK. An ACL tear in March against Ireland kept him out until November and the scrum-half finally played 80 minutes in mid-January. He's surprised himself by how quickly he's got up to speed.
The big debate among Irish fans at this time is usually about who should be the fly-half: Sam Prendergast, the best attacker? Jack Crowley, the best defender? Or Harry Byrne, the best goal kicker?
But there have been bigger issues for Ireland in a troublesome buildup.
Ireland's all-Lions front row was humiliated by South Africa in November. The lineout is already messy and if Ireland doesn't have a scrum it won't matter who is the No. 10.
Tighthead star Tadhg Furlong has played less than two hours of rugby since the South Africa embarrassment and injuries have forced Ireland to its fourth-choice loosehead. Whoever plays, all eyes will be on him in the first scrum in Paris.
Also out are Mack Hansen, Finlay Bealham, Ryan Baird and Hugo Keenan, who broke his thumb in the training camp in Portugal last week.
Bundee Aki was also dropped and censured by Ireland before a disciplinary panel served him a six-week suspension for verbally abusing a referee again.
The ban spoke to a “growing and unacceptable culture” of misconduct by Ireland players toward match officials, former Irish test ref Owen Doyle told the Irish Times. Other recent cases involved Jonathan Sexton in 2023 and Hansen in 2024, and Caelan Doris and James Ryan have also had communication issues. They add up to an unwanted reputation for Ireland with referees.
Scotland has a different reputation. World-beaters at times, the Scots are notoriously prone to switching off in games.
The booing at Murrayfield in November after they lost to Argentina from 21-0 up can’t be brushed off. The collapses stem from a weak bench, unreliable set-pieces and a mental fragility that have not been fixed under Gregor Townsend, the longest serving of the current Six Nations coaches.
Scottish Rugby defied a growing clamor for a new voice for the national team by giving Townsend a contract extension last September to the 2027 World Cup. By then he will have been in charge for 10 years.
Townsend doesn't shy from tough questions and showed he can be ruthless when he dropped Lions winger Duhan van der Merwe before the New Zealand game in November.
Scotland averages two wins per Six Nations on Townsend's watch and they could have two wins by the only break in the competition this year; they start with Italy away, home to England, which hasn't won at Murrayfield since 2020, then Wales away.
After beating Italy three times out of three in 2025, battling in two, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus predicted “underrated” Italy will finish second or third in the Six Nations. But his compliment didn't specify when.
Italy has never finished higher than fourth and to repeat that this year would no surprise. There are only two home games, Scotland at the start and England at the end, but the Azzurri's positive energy and enterprise have brought about rare sold-out signs at 70,000-seat Stadio Olimpico against Scotland.
“Can we dream of beating Scotland?” coach Gonzalo Quesada said. “We're world champions at dreaming.”
Italy has big holes at the back to fill after injuries to Ange Capuozzo and Tommaso Allan were compounded by a ruptured ACL in training on Saturday suffered by in-form Northampton wing Edoardo Todaro, who debuted in November.
If Japan was in the Six Nations Wales would be ecstatic.
At Japan's expense in 2025, Wales ended the longest losing streak in men's tier-one history in July, and snapped a record 10-match losing streak in home games in November. But another streak is still alive: 11 consecutive Six Nations losses dating to 2023.
Wales supporters starved for success gobbled up crumbs of optimism from a bunch of tries scored against New Zealand and Argentina in November. But at the other end Wales didn't have the physicality to stop opponents from getting over the gainline.
The team's best player and captain, Jac Morgan, remained a doubt to appear in the tournament following shoulder surgery. Also worrying for Wales were ticket sales, its lifeblood. Sales are low. At least a goosebumps prematch show is guaranteed: The national anthem will be sung a cappella in Cardiff after it was a big hit in November before the All Blacks game.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
FILE - The French team players including Antoine Dupont, center, celebrate with the trophy after the Six Nations rugby union match between France and Scotland at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, file)
