Pa. Groundhog ‘Predicts’ 6 More Weeks Of Winter [VIDEO]

Pennsylvania’s famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil has emerged from his lair and saw his shadow, in the process predicting six more weeks of winter.

• 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Groundhogs

But, at this rate, that might not be so bad.

The groundhog made his “prediction” on Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill in the town for which he’s named about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Temperatures were near freezing when he emerged at dawn — unseasonably warm — and are forecast to climb into the mid-40s in a winter that’s brought little snow and only a few notably cold days to much of the East.

Thursday’s ceremony is largely that: Phil’s prediction is determined ahead of time by the Inner Circle, a group which dons top hats and tuxedos and decides in advance what the groundhog will predict.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)