An end to winter's bitter cold chill is in sight and will come to an end soon, according to Pennsylvania's famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.

When the Pennsylvania groundhog emerged from his dwelling at Gobbler's Knob Saturday morning, he did not see his shadow.

"And so ye faithful, there is no shadow to see, an early Spring for you and me," proclaimed Bob Roberts, one of Phil's handlers.

Legend has it that if the furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2 winter will last six more weeks. But if he doesn't see his shadow, spring will come early.

Punxsutawney, the Pennsylvania town that is home to one of the most famous weather-predicting groundhogs, Punxsutawney Phil, has been carrying on the tradition of Groundhog Day since the 1800s, according to The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

Since the tradition began in 1887, Phil (and his ancestors) saw their shadows 99 times, while predicting an early spring just 16 times. Phil is known as the "seer of seers" and "sage of sages." Organizers predicted about 20,000 people this weekend, a larger-than-normal crowd because Groundhog Day falls on a weekend this year.

Phil's predictions, of course, are not always right on. Last year, for example, he told people to prepare for six more weeks of winter, a minority opinion among his groundhog brethren. The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University later listed that January to June as the warmest seven-month period since systematic records began being kept in 1895.

Phil isn't the only groundhog making weather predictions, others include New York's "Staten Island Chuck," Atlanta's "General Beauregard Lee" and Ontario's Wiarton Willie in Wiarton.