WGN's Tom Skilling will share weather reporting duties with Woodstock Willie on Groundhog Days – Shaw Local

For the first time, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling will provide the forecast Friday for Woodstock's Groundhog Days festivities.

Skilling, who will retire at the end of February after more than four decades at WGN, will translate from “Groundhogese” whether Woodstock Willie has seen his shadow and, by extension, six more weeks of winter in the making or whether we'll have an early departure this spring. General.

Woodstock Willie was personally involved in lobbying for Skilling to come to Woodstock, posting a video to his Facebook page shortly after New Year's Day asking Skilling to join the fun.

[ Groundhog Days in Woodstock: What you need to know ]

Skilling said he'll be staying at the Cherry Tree Inn the night before the big day — the same place where Bill Murray's character, weatherman Phil Connors, stays in the movie while he's stuck in a repeat of Groundhog Day.

Skilling's weather career began at age 14, when he began working at a radio station in Aurora.

“From my early years, I loved the weather,” Skilling said.

Over the course of his career, which included attending the University of Wisconsin, he witnessed the evolution of technology. He mentioned satellite technology as one of the biggest changes.

“We are interested in computer modeling and the scientific approach,” Skilling said.

Groundhog Day is less scientific, but local celebrations of the holiday have been a staple at Woodstock, where the forecast and breakfast began in 1995. Events begin on Thursday and continue throughout the weekend.

“I think the interesting thing about Groundhog Day is how much of a kick people get out of it. It's become a tradition,” Skilling said. “That's more fun than anything else.”

After retiring, Skilling said he hopes to work on projects and plans to split his time between Alaska, Hawaii and Chicago. He specifically stated that he was interested in climate change.

“I'm not leaving, and I'm certainly not giving up my love of meteorology,” Skilling said.

Skilling also met Woodstock Willie — the mascot — in person, when the season forecaster was at the WGN studios earlier this week to promote the celebration.

“That was a riot,” Skilling said of the groundhog encounter, noting that Woodstock Willie is “awesome.”

He said he looked forward to meeting people on Friday, adding, “We're going to have a lot of fun with it.”

“This has become an annual highlight,” Skilling said.