Groundhog Day 2017 has arrived and Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow.

Groundhog Phil emerged from his hole in Punxsutawney, Pa. Thursday morning and saw his shadow, signaling six more weeks of winter.

So will Punxsutawney Phil's prediction/prophecy come true? Meteorologists at AccuWeather are suggesting that there is indeed more wintry weather to come.

"There will be more rain than snow in the big East Coast cities," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Paul Pastelok. "However, the interior Northeast will have a higher chance for snow as temperatures remain below normal. As far as a significant warmup goes across the Northeast, I think you have to hold off til late April or early May."

Other prognosticating groundhogs around the world had a different experience this Groundhog Day, with Staten Island Chuck foretelling early spring. Meanwhile, Shubenacadie Sam of Nova Scotia also predicted the arrival of spring early.

Those behind the Groundhog Day event, however, note on their website that "Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just imposters."

So how exactly did the Groundhog Day tradition begin? "The celebration of Groundhog Day began with the Germans, Pennsylvania's earliest settlers," says the Groundhog Day website. "They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states 'For as the sun shines on Candlemas day, so far will the snow swirl in May...'. The settlers found that groundhogs were plentiful and were the most intelligent and sensible animal to carry on the legend of Candlemas Day."

Here's how Twitter is reacting to Punxsutawney Phil's prophecy of six more weeks of winter:

Tags: Groundhog Day winter