In Groundhog Day folklore, it’s not considered “good” if the groundhog sees its shadow—seeing the shadow is supposed to mean six more weeks of winter, while no shadow means an early spring.

What the Shadow Is Supposed to Mean

  • If the groundhog sees its shadow and scurries back into its burrow, the legend says winter will last for about six more weeks.
  • If the groundhog doesn’t see its shadow and stays out, that’s taken as a sign that spring will come early.

So, if you’re tired of cold weather, the “good” outcome is usually that it doesn’t see its shadow.

Is It Actually Accurate?

From a science standpoint, the groundhog is more of a symbol than a serious weather forecaster.

  • Analyses of famous groundhog predictions put the long‑term accuracy somewhere around or below 40%, which is worse than a coin flip.
  • Meteorologists and weather agencies treat it as fun tradition, not a real forecasting method.

In other words, whether it sees its shadow or not doesn’t reliably tell you what the weather will be like—it’s more for entertainment and community celebration.

A Quick Way to Remember

You can remember it like this:

Shadow = sunshine today, but more winter ahead.
No shadow = gloomy skies today, but spring sooner.

So if you’re asking “isit good if the groundhog sees its shadow,” most people hoping for warmer weather would say: no, it’s “good” when it doesn’t.

TL;DR:

  • Shadow seen → legend says 6 more weeks of winter (traditionally “bad” if you want warmth).
  • No shadow → legend says early spring (the result most people root for).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.