Thousands of people will head to Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh on Friday in the early morning hours to see groundhog Punxsutawney Phil roused from his stump to predict the weather, writes Ashley Adams for The Keystone.

If the most famous groundhog sees his shadow, chances are high that winter will last for six more weeks. If Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow, we could see an early spring.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club has plenty of events organized for Groundhog Day, both before and after Phil makes his prediction.

The fun will start at 6:00 a.m., with the groundhog expected to give his weather verdict around 6:30. The big moment can be watched live on Groundhog.org, among other places.

While the first Groundhog Day celebration was held in 1877, the tradition of using a rodent to forecast the weather dates much earlier. It was brought to the country by German immigrants, who used hedgehogs for the same predictions back home.

Punxsutawney Phil’s popularity soared in the 1980s and 1990s thanks to an appearance on “Oprah” and the release of the hit Groundhog Day movie with Bill Murray.

Read more about Punxsutawney Phil’s big day in Gobbler’s Knob happening tomorrow in The Keystone.