Groundhog Day is Sunday, Feb. 2. California doesn't have a Groundhog Day celebration, but in a variation on the tradition, The Living Desert in Palm Desert uses a desert tortoise, Mojave Maxine, to indicate when spring has arrived.

Will spring arrive early? We will find out Sunday whether the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not.

NOAA set a few ground rules. The groundhogs and "alternative groundhogs" must have been prognosticating for at least 20 years and must also have been active as of Feb. 2, 2024. The competitors included 13 groundhogs, three taxidermied groundhogs, one never-seen creature presumed to be a groundhog, a prairie dog statue and a tortoise.

Groundhog Day has been observed on Feb. 2. The longstanding tradition calls for groundhogs to tell us if spring is near.