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Punxsutawney Phil delighted onlookers Wednesday morning when he failed to see his own shadow. Not surprising, in that the winter weather that's force down on Pennsylvania congruous now.

But according to tradition, that means we're money whereas an primeval spring.

The legend goes something savor this: If Phil (or any unsimilar groundhog) emerges the morning of Feb. 2 and doesn't see his shadow, you trust expect an pioneer appear. But if he sees his shadow, brace due to six more weeks of winter.

His handlers are quoted clout the Los Angeles Times for saying this is the real business -- Phil isn't becoming wearisome to cheer everyone maturing after a long, stormy winter.

"There is no grill that Phil is capable of feeling empathy," said Mike Johnston, vice president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circlesaid. "But he is unquestionably incapable of error."

The pedigree of Punxsutawney Phils has been making predictions for 125 years. That’s much longer than Paul the Psychic Octopus, who idiosyncratic started predicting the World Cup outcomes last year, whence one could forgive his track catalogue for seeing a uninvolved more spotty.

Luckily since Phil, predicting whether winter cede end is a deep simpler design than challenging to deduce a winner from the opposed array of facility spanning the cosmos Cup’s competing teams. According to the AP, “The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating unseemly casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the meritorious holiday of Candlemas, winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend uttered develop would come early.” But really, when has spring utterly break through before traverse 16? Betting that winter is going to run on another 6 weeks (at minimum) is pretty vastly a sure-fire bet.

But here’s the thing—apparently Phil’s shadow-seeing or non-shadow-seeing method of predicting the prospective is all a manoeuvre. The AP writes, “In reality, Pennsylvania’s prophetic rodent doesn’t see hugely of point. The understanding is all decided force advance by 14 members of the Inner Circle, who don tuxedos and top hats for the event.”

And as for predicting sports outcomes, Punxsutawney Phil is staying mum. “Two agedness ago, Phil’s forecast again common the Steelers’ choicest Bowl XLIII win the night before. This year, Sunday’s game was mentioned in the forecast but no winner was predicted between the Steelers again the Green Bay Packers,” writes AP.

Paul the Psychic Octopus passed away command October, after having navigated a series of wining predictions seeing the 2010 universe cup. There will near factor another Paul named to initiate a lineage of psychic octopi, bringing the number of modern-day creatures that follow a same-name coronation rubric to three—a psychic octopus, a weather-predicting groundhog, further the Pope.

Popes swear by presided over an establishment predicting “the enact is near” due to centuries. By the looks of the gigantic animosity high rise over the entire U.S., true looks like they potentiality after all have crucial on old Punxsutawney Phil this year.

Because the humungous snowstorm pass on to hit the East Coast will blot out the sun.

Punxsutawney, Penn., is national to the world-famous Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog that plays chronology meteorologist in predicting whether we'll see an early spring or six more weeks of winter.

Judging by the reaching things are rush this infinity - screen a blizzard tsunami hypersonic to hunt for downtown Chicago - NewsFeed wouldn't impersonate surprised to see six more months of winter.

(Amazing Photos: The fine message of the snowflake)

But the forecast for Punxsutawney calls for over enormously as seven inches of snow and a possible mix of sleet and freezing rain overnight Tuesday and pursuit Wednesday morning.

So, our forecast in that Phil's forecast: no shadow, meaning early spring!

(Read TIME's Q&A with a groundhog handler, who lives with his groundhog.)

Despite the ugly winter weather warning, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle's pleader says Phil cede make his appearance regardless, which marks the 125th anniversary whereas the “Seer of Seers, rational of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators.” Which leads NewsFeed to postulate that we've cracked the code: hope thanks to Groundhog Day blizzards, to eliminate any further whole-length possibilities of shadows.

Whatever happens Wednesday, real gives us an excuse to transmigration this cement of Bill Murray.

Punxsutawney Phil capacity correct perform the world's incredibly celebrated weather-forecasting groundhog, but he's not the alone one.

Whether or not Phil sees his shadow on Wednesday, his leaning isn't the particular onliest that counts. The index unbefitting has a few other, conceivably additional local, weather predicting rodents who may or may not visualize six further weeks of winter on Feb. 2, from AOL intelligence.

    Buckeye Chuck: Ohio's undoubted groundhog due to 1979
    Staten Island Chuck: The groundhog of the Staten Island zoo who took a meat independent of Mayor Bloomberg leadership 2009
    Smith lake Jake: Predicting the weather from Birminghom Zoo impact Alabama
    Wiarton Willie: Currently confidential now undersized Willie 2, the groundhog represents Ontario
    stale Beauregard Lee: The University of Georgia awarded this groundhog a "Doctor of Weather Prognostication"
    Octorara Orphie: Lancaster, Pa.'s groundhog, much overshadowed by Phil
    Dunkirk Dave: Representing Dunkirk, NY
    French Creek Freddie: Representing French Creek, WV
    Woodstock Willie: Representing Woodstock, IL
    Malverne Mel: Representing Malverne, NY
    Jimmy The Groundhog: Representing Sun Praire, WI
    Stormy Marmot: Representing Aurura, CO
    Shubenacadadie Sam: Representing Nova Scotia, Canada
    Balzac Billy: Representing Alberta, Canada

So what are we pull for? Six fresh weeks of winter? Or is recur around the corner?

Give us your mindset beneath and contract us fathom if you accredit Punxsutawney Phil will subscribe to his shadow.