Six more weeks of winter, says Sir Walter Wally

Two of North Carolina's prognosticating groundhogs have both seen their shadows, predicting six more weeks of winter.

The sun was out Sunday afternoon when Sir Walter Wally emerged at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, allowing the groundhog to see his shadow for a second straight year.

Museum officials say Wally has been correct 50 percent of the time in predicting winter weather since 1998.

At about the same time in Charlotte, that city's groundhog, Queen Charlotte saw its shadow too at the Charlotte Nature Museum.

Meanwhile, at White Deer Park in Garner, Mortimer the Groundhog predicted one more cold snap, then an early spring.

After a week of cold weather, temperatures in the three cities got into the 60s on Sunday.

His famous counterpart, Punxsutawney Phil, also saw his shadow on Sunday.

The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last another six weeks.

If no shadow was seen, legend says, spring will come early.