Punxsutawney Phil

[Mugwump]

Following a week of frigid temperatures that gripped the Midwest, all eyes were on Pennsylvania's famed groundhog on Saturday in hopes of signs of relief.

And Punxsutawney Phil delivered good news on Groundhog Day morning, failing to see his shadow and thus predicting an early spring is on its way, according to local lore.

Phil's annual prediction draws thousands of revelers to the town of Punxsutawney, about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, every year. Onlookers were bundled up Saturday to chant Phil's name so he would emerge from his hole in a tree stump.

Cheers erupted when the early spring prediction was announced, with one of Phil's handlers advising the crowd to invest in swimsuits.