PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil emerged this morning from his lair to “see” his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter.

The groundhog made his “prediction” on Gobbler’s Knob, a tiny hill in the town for which he’s named east of Butler.

Temperatures were near freezing when he emerged at dawn — unseasonably warm — and were forecast to climb into the mid-40s in a winter that’s brought little snow and only a few notably cold days to much of the East.

Thursday’s ceremony is largely that: Phil’s prediction is determined ahead of time by the Inner Circle, a group who dons top hats and tuxedos and decides in advance what the groundhog will predict.

Organizers expected 15,000 to 18,000 people to witness the furry creature’s prognostication ceremony just before 7:30 a.m.

This year’s crowd was warmer than most. The average early-morning temperature usually hovers around 17 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Gov. Tom Corbett was among the spectators.