DETROIT (WWJ) - Woody the Woodchuck, Michigan's official prognosticating groundhog, is ready for her moment in the spotlight.
Woody will be coaxed out of her burrow at the Howell Nature Center around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Groundhog Day, to make her big prediction.
Woody's handlers say if she emerges from her house and stays out for 30 seconds or longer, she is indicating an early spring. If she doesn't come out at all or runs back into her house before the 30 seconds are up, she is forecasting six more weeks of winter.
"She decides whether she wants to come out and see her shadow or just not come out at all. So we are all hoping, although we have not had a severe winter this year, that we have an early spring," spokesperson Marie Sklaad told WWJ's Sandra McNeill.
You can trust what Woody predicts will actually happen, Sklaad said, because she has quite the track record.
"This will be her 21st prediction. Out of her 20 years predicting, she has been right 15 times," she said.
Sunday's festivities start with a free continental breakfast at the Howell Nature Center at 6:30 a.m., followed by a costume contest for the kids before Woody's time to shine.
