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Groundhog Day 2012: 5 things you need to know about Punxsutwney Phil

Every Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil makes the most celebrated weather forecast of the year, usually around the crack of dawn. But does he get it right? And who are those dapper guys in top hats? Here are answers to five famous Phil mysteries.

2. Who is Phil's competition?

Alan Ward/Livingston County Daily Press & Argus/AP/File
Woody the Woodchuck also predicts the weather from Howell, Mich.

If Phil's not your go-to groundhog Thursday, you have plenty of other options because Punxsutawney’s not the only city with a dog (or groundhog) in this fight.

Over the years, other prognosticating groundhogs have popped up, primarily throughout the eastern half of North America to claim a piece of the day’s weather-predicting pie. Among them include:

• General Beauregard Lee in Lilburn, Ga.

• Wiarton Willie, an albino Canadian groundhog in Bruce County, Ontario

• Sir Walter Wally in Raleigh, N.C.

• Holland Huckleberry in Holland, Ohio

• Shubenacadie Sam in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia

• Chuck Wood in Stickney, Ill.

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