CanadaB次元官网网址檚 famous prognosticating rodents were split over springB次元官网网址檚 arrival on Groundhog Day.

OntarioB次元官网网址檚 Wiarton Willie reportedly did not see his shadow on Sunday morning, which is good news for people tired of wintry weather. But Nova ScotiaB次元官网网址檚 Shubenacadie Sam and QuebecB次元官网网址檚 Fred la Marmotte saw their shadows, predicting a long winter ahead.

The tradition holds that if a groundhog doesnB次元官网网址檛 see its shadow on Groundhog Day, springlike weather will soon arrive. But if a shadow appears, winterB次元官网网址檚 icy grip wonB次元官网网址檛 let go for quite some time.

Those keeping the Wiarton Willie tradition alive in OntarioB次元官网网址檚 South Bruce Peninsula carried the white-haired groundhog inside a see-through boxfilled with a bed of straw to a stage around 8 a.m.

Wiarton Mayor Jay Kirkland, who per local tradition is the only person who can speak B次元官网网址淕roundhogese,B次元官网网址� put his ear to the box and then announced WillieB次元官网网址檚 prediction of an early spring to the crowd.

B次元官网网址淲illie didnB次元官网网址檛 see his shadow. We will have an early spring,B次元官网网址� Mayor Kirkland said to cheering crowd.

Nova ScotiaB次元官网网址檚 beloved celebrity groundhog, Shubenacadie Sam, predicted a long winter ahead.

The large rodent poked her nose out from the pint-sized barn door of her enclosure at a wildlife park north of Halifax Sunday morning and stepped out into the -18 C cold.

She spent a few moments sniffing the air and looking around at the crowd that gathered on the sunny and frigid morning to watch her prediction, before turning around and heading back inside her enclosure.

B次元官网网址淣ot surprisingly, it seems Sam wants to get back inside,B次元官网网址� Andrew Boyne, the director of the wildlife division at the Department of Natural Resources, told the crowd.

Boyne said Sam saw her shadow, which folklore says means six more weeks of cold, wintry weather.

B次元官网网址淢ore winter!B次元官网网址� He exclaimed.

No shadow is said to foretell the early arrival of spring-like temperatures.

Living on the East Coast, Shubenacadie Sam is typically the first groundhog in North America to issue a long-term forecast.

She is followed by QuebecB次元官网网址檚 Fred la Marmotte, who made the same prediction of a longer winter, and OntarioB次元官网网址檚 Wiarton Willie.

In Val dB次元官网网址橢spoir, in QuebecB次元官网网址檚 Gasp茅sie region, the temperature hovered at -18 C as furry forecaster Fred was scooped from a tiny log cabin, blinking in the bright sunshine as he was brandished in front of the crowd. There was a mixture of cheers and groans as the mayor of the nearby town of Perc茅 announced FredB次元官网网址檚 prediction: a late spring.

B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 put away the skidoos! Bring out the snowshoes!B次元官网网址� cried out another mayor, who was joined on stage by a human-sized dancing Fred mascot and local children and politicians.

In western Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and is predicting six more weeks of wintry weather, his top-hatted handlers announced Sunday.

A massive crowd was on hand to hear the woodchuckB次元官网网址檚 weather forecast, an annual ritual that has boomed in public interest since Bill MurrayB次元官网网址檚 1993 movie, B次元官网网址淕roundhog Day.B次元官网网址�

In medieval Europe, farmers believed that if hedgehogs emerged from their burrows to catch insects it was a sure sign of an early spring.