On Tuesday, the president of “The Inner Circle” awoke Punxsutawney Phil from his burrow. Phil emerged from his cozy stead to determine the fate of this year’s winter-to-spring transition. The result: the shadow went unseen! Phil has confirmed that this year’s winter will come to an end early.

“The Inner Circle” is the organization responsible for everything involved with Groundhog Day and Punxsutawney Phil and has been active for decades. They’re in charge of everything from the care of the groundhog, to the annual event on February 2. This chamber of elegant men have devoted countless hours to the care of Punxsutawney Phil. This includes feeding, grooming and the everyday upkeep of the groundhog. It’s even said that they feed him a specially formulated supplement to add seven years to his life.

Unfortunately Punxsutawney Phil, or any of the groundhogs throughout the country who claim to be able to predict the rest of winter, has little to no credibility. The only proof of the groundhogs being correct is when their prediction actually comes true, which has a fifty-fifty chance of occuring.

For the few out there who truly believe in the groundhogs ability to predict weather, you are in need of some facts. According to Lisa Evans, from The Guardian, Punxsutawney Phil has only correctly predicted the weather outcomes four times out of the past 13 years. This means the flipping a coin, using a chimp, or hiring a psychic to predict weather would be just as, if not more, successful the Phil.

Groundhogs are treated with reverence only because of the pointless holiday we have created. The reality is that groundhogs are actually just burrowing rodents. They often tear up yards and parks for their own living quarters below ground. They are, in fact, very similar to chipmunks, squirrels and moles. Yes ,these are the animals who continually come back week after week to tear your bird feeder to shreds.

Although the groundhogs aren’t so reliable, it doesn’t mean that the tradition should be discontinued. For over a century humans have been keeping this tradition alive throughout the world. We all know it really doesn’t mean much when it turns factual, but it’s still something funny to look forward to every February on what would a be a just a boring, groundhog-less day.