Is spring just around the corner according to the groundhog in Ontario?

Ontario’s most famous groundhog, Wiarton Willie, made his annual appearance this morning.

It’s Groundhog Day today (Feb. 2) and the fun, albeit unscientific, tradition continues. If Willie does not see its shadow, that means spring is just around the corner.

If he does see his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.

Willie makes his home in Wiarton, a small town in South Bruce Peninsula, and emerges early on Feb. 2 to make his prediction.

The event started with pre-dawn fireworks over the Wiarton Arena parking lot.

Just after 8 a.m., Willie made an appearance and the official proclamation from Mayor Jay Kirkland was in — no shadow, which means an early spring.

Mayor Jay Kirkland announces Willie did not see his shadow.

So, even though winter has been mild and spring-like, the unofficial word is that it is almost over.

A more accurate prediction from Environment and Climate Change Canada, however, indicates we are not quite done with winter yet.

The weather forecaster even put out a chart showing how many times the groundhog’s predictions were correct — since 2014, he has got six years right and four years wrong.

Tomorrow is #GroundhogDay, and with that comes another Wiarton Willie prediction! If he sees his shadow, we could have six more weeks of winter. If not, then we could see an early spring!

👇Below is Willie's track record for predicting an early spring.#ONwx #wiartonwillie pic.twitter.com/DybW7TDjaG

— ECCC Weather Ontario (@ECCCWeatherON) February 1, 2024

Photos: Wiarton Willie Festival