The state of Pennsylvania has Punxsutawney Phil as their famous groundhog and Canada's province of Ontario has Wiarton Willie.
Early in the morning on February 2, Groundhog Day, local residents, fans, and news reporters gather in Wiarton, a town on Lake Huron, to find out Willie’s weather prediction.
If Willie sees his shadow when he crawls out of his burrow, it means 6 more weeks of winter. If it is cloudy and Willie does not see his shadow, it means that spring will arrive soon.
The Wiarton Willie Groundhog Day festival continues all day and includes dances, contests, parades and pancake breakfasts.
Willie is very unique. He is the only weather forecasting groundhog that is albino. Albino means that his fur has no color. It is white.
Wiarton Willie has been a groundhog weather forecaster since 1955. In 1995, a large statue of Wiarton Willie was built to mark 40 years of groundhog weather forecasting.
Unfortunately, the original Willie died in 1999. A memorial plaque was added to the statue and Willie was replaced with another albino groundhog, also named Willie.
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