Punxsutawney Phil predicts spring soon on Groundhog Day 2013

Today is Groundhog Day, which means the country woke up this morning to hear the prediction of Punxsutawney Phil. This year, he didn’t see his shadow, which means that winter will be ending soon and we’re in for an early spring.

The groundhog emerged this morning at Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and didn’t see his shadow. According to legend, if he did, we’d six more weeks of winter, notes The Associated Press. Considering the wild weather the country has experienced this winter, most probably couldn’t take six more weeks of that.

The Inner Circle group handles the ceremony, all wearing top hats and tuxedos. Bill Deeley “consults” with Phil, the “seer of seers” to find out his prediction. The group estimates that 2o,000 people journeyed to the ceremony this year.

According to ABC News, the tradition dates back to 1887. Since then, Phil and his ancestors have seen their shadows 99 times. They have only predicted an early spring 16 times.

Last year, Phil made a mistake. He predicted six more weeks of winter, but the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University later said that the winter of 2012 was the warmest since they started keeping records.