On Sunday, Feb. 2, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow in the early hours of the morning.
The crowds at Gobbler’s Knob — Phil’s official home — in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, booed when the verdict was announced around 6:30 a.m. that morning, according to People.
However, according to CNN, the groundhog has “only been right about 35% of the time since 2005.”
For those living in parts of the Rockies, the South and most of the East, there is no need to worry because, as CNN reported, temperatures will get warmer starting in February.
The Pacific Northwest and parts of the Midwest may actually have a cause for concern. Per CNN, these areas will get a longer winter with below-average temperatures.
What is Groundhog Day?
Since 1886, when the tradition began, Groundhog Day has been held on Feb. 2 every year. But it wasn’t always about a groundhog coming out of the ground to assess his shadow.

The tradition came from a Christian religious holiday called Candlemas Day, according to The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club website.
On this holiday, Christians would take their candles to their church to have them blessed. They believed that this would “bring blessing to their household for the remaining winter,” per the Groundhog Club.
When the holiday was introduced in Germany, a weather-predicting animal became part of the tradition — but instead of a groundhog it was a hedgehog.
According to the Groundhog Club’s website, when German settlers came to the U.S. that was when the animal changed to a groundhog and the tradition hasn’t changed since.

Groundhog day but with a cake?
While the tradition hasn’t changed since that first Groundhog Day, some feel that there is a need for a change in tradition.
Fox News reported that PETA proposed to have a “weather reveal” cake this year instead of Phil.
In an offer letter written this year to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, the organization asked them to agree to let “Phil and his family retire to a reputable sanctuary” and instead use a cake that would predict the weather, with blue meaning six more weeks of winter or pink signifying an early spring.
“Groundhogs are shy prey animals who, when allowed, actively avoid humans,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk wrote in the letter.
She continued, “Yet, year after year, Phill is transported to Gobbler’s Knob, whisked on stage, and subjected to a noisy announcer, screaming crowds, and flashing lights against all his natural instincts.”