Canada's two most famous furry forecasters and their American counterpart saw their shadows when they arose from their slumbers Tuesday morning, bringing bad news to those yearning for an early spring.

According to folklore, if a hibernating animal sees its shadow on Feb. 2 -- the medieval Christian holiday of Candlemas -- winter will last six more weeks.

And indeed, the shadows of Ontario's Wiarton Willie, Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam and Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania were all spotted by their owners today.

If no shadow is seen, according to tradition, spring will come early.

The South Bruce Peninsula website describes Wiarton Willie as an albino groundhog who first began forecasting the length of winter in January, 1956. That's when a local man named Mac Mackenzie tried to "stir up a little fun in Wiarton." He sent out invitations to his friends, calling for a "Groundhod Day celebration" and set the day for Feb. 2.

"Somehow, one of these invitations fell into the hands of a Toronto Star reporter," says the website, and Wiarton's been making his predictions ever since.

Although Willie, Sam and Phil seem to be the most celebrated forecasters, there are actually dozens of semi-famous woodchucks who are called on annually to make mid-winter predictions. Besides Shubenacadie and Wiarton's furry critters, Winnipeg, Man., and Balzac, Alta. each hosts a groundhog with legendary powers to foresee the future of the weather for the next six weeks.

While Willie tends to overshadow Sam in fame (or infamy, depending on his prognostication), the Atlantic time zone allows Sam to be the first groundhog to make his prediction in North America each year. Sam resides in Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park.