Happy Groundhog Day! According to Groundhog.org, the roots of Groundhog Day date back to early Christian celebrations of taking candles to church for a blessing on February 2. As time progressed, the celebration evolved into weather forecast predictions of Candlemas. Early folk songs suggested that, if the weather was bright, winter would remain. However, if the weather was cloudy, winter would leave. Germans introduced the first animal into the holiday, believing that winter would remain for another six weeks if a hedgehog saw his shadow. As German settlers arrived in the U.S., the hedgehog was replaced with a groundhog.

Today, Punxsutawney Phil in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania predicts our wintery forecast when he leaves his burrow around 6:30am. If he sees his shadow, we will have 6 more weeks of wintery weather. If he doesn't, we can look forward to an early Spring.

Unfortunately, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning when he left his burrow. The prediction is for 6 more weeks of wintery weather!