This is a German tradition that dates back to the 17 hundreds.

The Germans brought it over to the United States when they settled in Pennsylvania.

No on ground Hog Day.

It all comes down to this guy.

Fill the ground hog and punks.

Otani, Pennsylvania Whether he will see his shadow or not.

Now Phil comes out of hibernation every year on Ground Hog Day on February 2nd.

If it's a bright, sunny day, well, most likely Phil will see his shadow, but then he will get scared.

Go back in his hole and go back to sleep.

You will have winter for six more weeks.

But if it's a cloudy day, a dreary day and he comes out and does not see his shadow well, he'll stay out, and that means spring will come early.

Now, if you count up all of the years that Phil has been forecasting, he basically sees his shadow about 85% of the time, so it's most likely he'll see his shadow.

His owners think he's accurate.

100% of the time.

But if you ask meteorologists around the world, well, we disagree.

We think he's wrong about 50% of the time.

Whether he sees his shadow or not, Bill, the official start to spring is March 20th.