Farewell to winter then? Not so, acccording to groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, who today predicted six more weeks of winter during his annual Groundhog Day appearance.
A smaller-than-usual crowd of less than 15,000 people spent a night of revelry awaiting the sunrise and the famed prognosticator's exit from his winter den at Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill in Punxsutawney, some 105km northeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Groundhog handler Ron Ploucha held Phil up to the crowd after the animal "saw his shadow" during the 126th annual Groundhog Day festivities.
Legend has it that if Phil sees his shadow he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his den. Early spring arrives if he does not see his shadow, causing Phil to remain above ground.
With the US experiencing mild weather this winter, six more weeks of it might not be so bad, however, amid unseasonably warm temperatures and lack of snow.
AP