Groundhog predicts six more weeks of winter

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - An American groundhog delivered his annual weather prediction on Tuesday, declaring that there will be six more weeks of winter after seeing his shadow.

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Dubbed "Punxsutawney Phil," the rodent made his forecast in front of some 12,000 people who came from as far as Chile and the Netherlands and braved a chilly 18 degrees Fahrenheit (-8 degrees Celsius) to see the more than century-old tradition.

If Phil does not see his shadow when he emerges from his burrow, which is a box set into a tree stump near the western Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney, spring is said to be just around the corner.

Several other Groundhog Day celebrations are held around the United States. A high-profile rival delivered a different prediction on Tuesday, with local media reporting that New York City's "Staten Island Chuck" did not see his shadow.

(Reporting by Jon Hurdle, editing by Michelle Nichols and Paul Simao)