When the groundhog “sees his shadow,” the folklore says we’re in for six more weeks of winter.

What it means, simply

  • On Groundhog Day (February 2), the groundhog comes out of its burrow.
  • If it sees its shadow (because the day is clear and sunny), the legend says it gets scared, dives back into its burrow, and winter will last another six weeks.
  • If it doesn’t see its shadow (cloudy or overcast), the story says spring will arrive early.

A bit of fun context

The tradition comes from old European (especially German) weather folklore tied to mid‑winter and was brought to Pennsylvania, where the groundhog became the “weather forecaster.” Today it’s mostly treated as a fun cultural event, and the actual long‑range weather accuracy of famous groundhogs like Punxsutawney Phil is low (around a third of the time).

TL;DR: Shadow = “six more weeks of winter”; no shadow = “early spring,” all in good‑natured folklore.