Woodstock Willie, the Chicago area’s most famous groundhog, made his winter weather prediction Monday morning.
A crowd gathered in sub-zero temperatures in Woodstock Square to watch the traditional rousting of the groundhog shortly after 7am.
Actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who played Ned Ryerson in the 1993 Groundhog Day movie, declared Willie had not seen his shadow and that spring is on its way.
The cheering crowd of spectators included people from as far away as Australia and Spain, according to organizers.
Chairman of Groundhog Days Rick Bellairs says the four-day party saw 500 people run a 5K on Saturday, while 300 people went on a pub crawl and 300 watched a screening of the movie that made the town famous.
While Willie’s forecast was welcome news, an analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found he has a 60% accuracy rate.
Gertie the Groundhog, from Hanna City outside of Peoria, saw her shadow so she says 6 more weeks of winter.
NOAA ranked her fifth out of 19 groundhogs in the US and placed Willie in seventh.