What you should know about Groundhog Day

The official groundhog is actually named Punxsutawney Phil.

Punxsutawney is in Pennsylvania, where many German immigrants settled in the 18th century.

According to German legend, hedgehogs were used to predict the weather. When the tradition spread to the U.S., groundhogs, the local animal, took over.

If Phil does NOT see his shadow, then you can hope for an early spring; otherwise, the cold weather will last another 6 weeks, according to legend.

The spring equinox is on March 20, 7 weeks after Groundhog Day. The holiday falls midway between the spring equinox and the winter solstice, which explains why the day was chosen.

Groundhogs hibernate from October till March or April, when they wake to mate. But male groundhogs sometimes wake up in February to visit female dens—naughty boys!

The little burrow-hideaway built to accommodate Phil is known as Gobbler's Knob.

Although the the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club claims Phil's success rate is 100%, the more reliable National Climatic Data Center says he's only been accurate 39% of the time.

The official ceremony, led by a group of locals known as the "Inner Circle," is conducted in the original Pennsylvania Dutch dialect.

The alarm actually goes off at 6 a.m, although apparently the sun didn't rise until 7:25 a.m. on Feb. 2. in Punxsutawney.