South Main Elevated Water Storage Tank

Punxsutawney (pucks-a-tawn-ee) is a small town in western Pennsylvania that no one would know about if it wasn’t for a rodent issue. With less than 7,500 residents, the burb swells to over 30,000 people every February because of superstitions revolving around whether or not a ground hog there can predict the weather. And if that sounds crazy to you, then you’ve never met Phil.

When the local water utility needed more capacity and pressure to deal with this annual arrival of Phil-Phanatic’s they opted to highlight the town’s most famous resident, a burrowing furball that comes out of his winter ground nest every February 2nd to tell the world whether or not the forthcoming Winter would end early, or to summon in a warmer Spring. Known as Ground Hog Day, this celebration brings in news organizations from around the world to sit in the cold and learn whether Phil had seen his shadow (or not, with the former signifying sunnier days ahead). This big (and never ending) event was even the basis of a movie of the same name starring Bill Murray.

According to local lore, the German immigrants to the area brought along a tradition called “Candlemas”, where people would bring candles to church to have them blessed in hopes of a mild winter. These Germans migrants believed that badgers back home would help predict the weather also. But since Pennsylvania had no badgers, they opted to instead look toward more local rodents. The first mention of this unique forecasting method was from a diary in 1840, but it was not until 1887 that the method was publicized/formally recognized as a local holiday.

Today the little town of Punxsutawney, once a run-down mining, mill, and railroad town is well known around the world. So why not celebrate their most famous resident and benefactor by showing him off on their newest elevated water tower, complete with Phil carrying the daily weather forecast in his furry little hands.