It is almost here.

There are only 45 days left.

What the calendar says, however, just is not good enough for some — especially if you happen to be a groundhog.

The first day of spring is in March, corresponding to the vernal equinox, but the premiere prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil — who for the first time this year on Tuesday, Groundhog Day, texted his annual prediction — came out of his slumber at Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, PA, only to see his shadow and return to bed, forecasting six more weeks of winter.

The great groundhog’s prediction might be easy to believe after last weekend’s powerful winter storm that dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain on the Upstate and western North Carolina. The outlook for an earlier spring looks even more grim with the threat of another storm system expected to roll through the area this weekend.

National Weather Service meteorologist Blair Holloway from the Greenville-Spartanburg office of the agency reported Tuesday temperatures have been less than average this winter already. He said for the month of January the area experienced an average high temperature at least two degrees less than normal. The news gets even chillier looking at December — the Upstate was somewhere around three degrees below average.

Forecast models from the National Climate Prediction Center predict that cool trend will continue all over the state through February, March and April, according to Holloway.

“It’s a continuation of what we’ve seen and extending into early spring,” he said.

But the meteorologist said even with the NWS predicting a cool start to the spring season, he isn’t placing his faith in the hands of the grand groundhog.

“We certainly don’t use that for any of our own information,” he said about Phil’s prediction. “And I’m not aware of any scientific evidence to support it.”

The National Weather Service really only likes to forecast about seven days at a time because of weather’s uncertainty; however, Holloway was willing to make one certain prediction of his own.

“I will say, however, with much certainty, the first day of spring will be as it is every year,” he said.

Mark it on your calendars now. It’s Saturday, March 20.

THE TRADITION OF GROUNDHOG DAY:

Groundhog Day — celebrated every Feb. 2 — has its roots in the early days of Christianity. According to www.groundhog.org — the official Web site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club — the custom grew out of a winter festival celebrated in Europe called Candlemas Day. This festival was set aside for clergy to bless and distribute candles. Legend says clear skies on Candlemas Day meant an extended winter. Roman legions brought this tradition to Germans who concluded if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, a hedgehog would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather or “Second Winter.” It was in Germany the hedgehog became part of the legend. Some of Pennsylvania’s earliest settlers were Germans and because of its resemblance to the European hedgehog, the groundhog carried on the tradition.