PHIL HAS SPOKEN
THE groundhog has seen his shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter as storm Orlena rages on.
appeared at to make the historical call.
4
The groundhog predicted that there will be six more weeks of winter.
Phil is the legendary groundhog who traditionally makes the spring weather forecast every year on Groundhog Day.
According to folklore, if the weather is cloudy when Phil emerges from his burrow on Gobbler's Knob, around two miles from Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania, then spring will come early.
2021 marks the 135th year that Phil has cast his meteorological prediction, and the Groundhog Day website maintains that only one groundhog (who usually live from six to eight years) has held ever held the title.
4
Organisers therefore declare that any other groundhog is an impostor, and that the true Phil's prediction is correct 100 percent of the time.
They attribute Phil's freakishly long lifespan to him drinking a sip of a secret "elixir of life" every summer at a Groundhog Picnic.
Phil's prediction this year that there will be another six weeks of winter comes as the .
Snow blanketed the tri-state area on Sunday and Monday night, with some areas being put in a state of emergency.
4
On Monday night, 20 inches or more had already fallen from eastern Pennsylvania to northern New Jersey. The highest total of 30 inches was reported in Mendham, New Jersey, at 11pm.
Governor described the situation as being "serious as a heart attack" as cities from by two feet of snow.
The storm dumped over 16 inches of snow in Central Park by 7pm Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
In Virginia, four firefighters were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not life threatening after their firetruck overturned Sunday on snow-covered roads in Henrico County, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
4
Above-ground subways and New York’s commuter railroads will resume service early Tuesday morning following shutdowns caused by Winter Storm Orlena.
The subway service will return at 5am, according to Gov Cuomo’s office, while the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North are expected to resume operations by 4 am.
Earlier, New York Mayor declared a state of emergency, all non-essential travel after 6am on Monday.
Cuomo declared an emergency in nine more counties throughout the Hudson Valley and Long Island.
Flights were grounded at JFK and LaGuardia airports and major roadways including the Long Island Expressway, I-84 and others were threatened with closure.
Most read in News
Cuomo warned: "This storm is no joke and the main concern right now is that the expected snowfall rate of two inches per hour this afternoon creates an extremely dangerous situation on our roadways.
Read More on The Sun
"I want New Yorkers to hear me loud and clear – stay home and off the roads and if you must travel, get where you're going before noon, and expect to remain home for some time."
also declared a state of emergency, and said some sites had been forced to close.
Storm Orlena – Woman freezes to death and 3 others die as 2ft of snow dumped on East Coast, sparking 660 crashes
Topics