Credit: AP Photo/Barry Reeger

The famous groundhog did not see his shadow this year.

Groundhog Day was yesterday, Sunday, February 2. As is tradition, the famous Groundhog Day groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, was retrieved from his burrow in Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. At 7:25 AM, Phil emerged, and due to the clouds overhead, did not see his shadow, which is an indication that spring is right around the corner. If you’re not familiar with the traditions of Groundhog Day, it goes like this: if Phil sees his shadow, he returns to his burrow, which means several more weeks of heavy winter weather are coming. If he doesn’t see it, it means we’re in for an early spring.

Punxsutawney has held its Groundhog Day celebration for over 130 years. Multiple groundhogs have worn the moniker of Punxsutawney Phil, though exactly how many groundhogs is a closely guarded secret of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, which is comprised of Phil’s handlers and spokesmen. According to statistics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Phil’s predictions are correct about 40% of the time. The Groundhog Club insists that there is a method to Phil’s predictions, and if they are wrong, it’s only because they were interpreted incorrectly.

Recently, animal rights group PETA called for the official retirement of Punxsutawney Phil, insisting that removing him from his burrow every year is abusive. They claimed that an animatronic groundhog could easily fill Phil’s ceremonial roles, using artificial intelligence to predict the weather.