Woodstock Willie did not see his shadow this Groundhog Day, predicting the arrival of an early spring.
This contradicted the prediction cast by Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania, who saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.
According to legend, if a ceremonial groundhog — Phil, Willie, Staten Island Chuck in New York, or any of several others — sees his shadow, he interprets it as six more weeks of bad weather and he returns to his hole. If he doesn’t see his shadow, he believes it’s a sign of spring and he stays above ground.
The 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray was set in Punxsutawney, but filmed in Woodstock. Groundhog Day festivities took off in Woodstock in the years after the movie was released, eventually including a real groundhog to make a prediction much like the one in the real Punxsutawney.
Woodstock Willie’s predictions are on the books for every year since 1997, though one year, the question of more winter was overshadowed one year by day-of winter concerns. A historic blizzard on Groundhog Day in 2011 forced the ceremony to be called off.
