Punxsutawney Phil will emerge at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, around 6:30 a.m. Thursday to predict whether or not spring will come early this year.

Thursday's celebration marks the 137th Groundhog Day, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, which handles Phil and the festivities.

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Tradition says that if Phil emerges and sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he emerges and doesn't see his shadow, warm weather will usher in spring early.

The tradition of using animals to predict the weather dates back to ancient times — the Romans would use hedgehogs (there were no groundhogs in Europe at the time) to predict the arrival of spring every year on Feb. 5, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Germans and Celts had their own version of the tradition that was brought to the United States through German and Dutch settlers in Pennsylvania, historian Dan Yoder wrote in his definitive history of the holiday. The badger used by the Pennsylvania Dutch was swapped with a groundhog, giving way to a holiday that gained prominence with the release of the popular 1993 film starring Bill Murray.

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Groundhog Day originally involved the Groundhog Club eating Phil after he made his prediction, CNN reported. Despite this, the Groundhog Club insists that there has only been one Phil since 1887, even with groundhogs having a lifespan of only six years in the wild and up to 14 in captivity.

Phil's longevity is attributed to a magical "elixir of life" he receives at the summer Groundhog Picnic. The elixir "magically gives him seven more years of life."