h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

For reasons not obvious to me, the Philadelphia Inquirer has a news feed for my computer (Philadelphia is bout 400 miles away from me, so local it's not). I keep seeing news items featured, but when I colick on them, I'm not allowed to read them because I'm not "subscribed." If I'm really interested, I go on Google and try to find other sources for the information.

Anyway, today I learned that Punxsatawney Phil (I think I've spelled the town right) saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter.
Well, my neighbor has a groundhog under his shed. If that groundhog came out, he (she) would not see any shadows. Would my neighbor's groundhog even come out? Well, it's forty degrees now.

Anyway, the question is whether all the groundhogs (or even most of them) would agree. One groundhog should not be allowed to decide the matter of Spring's timing for a whole country. Or, if Phil has jurisdiction just for Punxsatawney, and the leading groundhog(s) in neihboring areas did not see their shadows, would it make meteorologocial sense to have Curwensville, Indiana, Brookville, etc. be in a different season (Spring) than Punxsatawney (Winter)?

Yeah, I know I'm quibbling over nothing.

The sky is medium gray here in Boston. It's raining, though show has both preceded and will likely follow the rain.

If Punxsutawney Phil is a Trumpist, will he ever see any traces of global warming

In the 1980's on one of our local tv news prog's, on part of the weather forecastwe had a local farmer give his weather "predictions" 90% of the time he was spot on
But then came satellite technology stuff etcand NOW they can't get 3 days right in a row

Well, why didn't the TV station bring a groundhog into the studio and interview him?

I think I can answer that. I just saw a photograph of a wolf

He said: - The groundhog said six weeks more of winter. So I ate him.

This attracted some ate-tension

A good meal for a wolf.

Punxsatawney Phil he's got central heating where they keep him and 3 meals a day etc, so WHY come out ?

He hibernates.

I think the more general point is that a woodchuck doesn't go by a calendar as we do, but by a general warming of the surrounding climate. If it's too cold, the woodchuck would not budge from its burrow, shadow or no shadow. If it's warm enough, that would matter.