For the second year, Albertans tuned in to a virtual reveal, waiting for Balzac Billy to make his winter predictions.

While it was a much quieter event at Balzac's Blue Grass Nurseries, hundreds of Albertans tuned in to a live Facebook stream, while organizers braved the minus 28-degree weather to hype up a virtual audience.

"Welcome to the 19th Annual Groundhog Day Event!  Normally we have two to three hundred people out for a breakfast but --because of COVID, we can't have it."

The organizers were bundled up and you could see their frosty breath as they cheered for Balzac Billy to make an appearance.

"I'm going to count on everybody at home [and] online to help us get Billy to wake up from his slumber and hopefully predict an early spring  ---Billy! Billy!" 

At minus 28 degrees, Billy wasn't too eager to come out of his burrow, and when he finally did emerge, the masked groundhog was visibly shaken by the cold.

Then the groggy and stumbling groundhog made his winter predictions, with a shovel in hand.

"Oh no!! He saw his shadow folks," called the organizers. "Six more weeks."

There you have it, folks, Alberta's celebrity groundhog is predicting a long, cold winter ahead.