Wiarton Willie predicts early spring for Groundhog Day 2024

After a particularly cloudy and gloomy January, many who gathered in Wiarton for Groundhog Day were thrilled to have Willie not see his shadow, predicting an early spring.

If Willie had seen his shadow, it would mean six more weeks of winter.

Wiarton Willie followed suit with his closest groundhog neighbour Shubenacadie Sam in Nova Scotia as well as Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania who both also predicted an early spring.

It’s the first time in two years that Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow.

It’s unclear where exactly the Groundhog Day ritual originates from.

Some say there was a belief in medieval Europe that if farmers saw hedgehogs emerge from their burrows to catch insects, that was a sure sign of an early spring.

And others believe it has something to do with the date of Feb. 2 landing midway between winter solstice and spring equinox, but it is not known for sure.