HOWELL (WXYZ) — Sunday morning, Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Philpredicted six more weeks of wintry weather at the annual Groundhog Day at Gobbler's Knob.
However, Michigan held it's 27th annual event in Howell as well.
At Howell Nature Center, hundreds of folks were in attendance, even people from across the country, to witness Woody the Woodchuck predict whether it will be early spring... or 6sixmore weeks of winter weather. The 26-year-old Woody was ready to make that prediction.
To see things unfold, folks of all ages were at the Howell Nature Center since 7 in the morning.
"Winter is not really my jam so I'm hoping for spring," said Dan.
Husband and wife, Dan and Linda Huth came with their daughters, 2-year-old Cara and 6-year-old Liana.
"They were very excited when they got up," Linda said
And excitement was in the air for everyone, including Megan Mack, who brought her twins, 7-year-old Charlie and White.
"Is this like an annual tradition?" I asked.
"First time," Megan said.
"Are you a Michigander?" I asked.
"No, I'm from Texas originally," Megan said.
"So what have you heard about Groundhog Day?" I asked
"First of all, Woody is a female. And she is twice as accurate as Phil," Megan said.
The center says Woody has a 65% accuracy rate, with 17 out of 26 of her predictions to be proven true.
"What is the game plan if it is early spring?" I asked.
"Play outside more," said Charlie.
By 7:30 am, everyone was outside for the festivities to begin. From costume competitions to trivia, the Center's CEO, Tina Bruce, says it's all fun and games. But when the lady arrives... it means business.
"So if Woody is outside at the 30-second mark, we say spring is coming early. If she goes back inside the borough, that means we are going to get 6 more weeks of winter," Tina said.
As Woody made an appearance, people with bated breath on the left wished for spring, while folks on the right hoped for winter. That's where I met Bruce and Melissa from Tennessee.
"You guys drove here because it was your daughter's 18th birthday, and it's always been a tradition for her to attend Groundhog Day, but when you heard about Michigan, you were like?" I asked.
"Let's go enjoy the snow!" Melissa said.
But Woody the Woodchuck says this year, folks can expect early spring.
"Go Spring! We won the trivia, and we won the prediction" Megan said.
"I'm going to get my bike ready," Dan said.
"I can't wait to run without so many layers," Linda said.
With the prediction all set, there was this one burning question...
"So a Groundhog, a woodchuck, and a whistlepicker are all the same exact animal," Tina said.
