The crowd at Canada's top Groundhog Day festival got worse news yesterday than a bad weather forecast: They learned that star groundhog Wiarton Willie had died.

Some children among the 200 people burst into tears. Willie died of natural causes Sunday night, but his death was not disclosed until yesterday's ceremony. "We didn't really know what to do," said Sam Brouwer, Willie's caretaker for the past 10 years. "We were absolutely devastated."

Willie was lying in a pine coffin for a public viewing yesterday morning. His paws were crossed, pennies were placed over his eyelids and he was clutching a carrot. Brouwer said the albino groundhog died at the age of 22, much longer than most groundhogs in the wild survive. He had been in failing health when he went into hibernation last fall.

Local officials said the "spirit" of Willie indicated there would be an early spring. According to folklore, if the sun was out when Willie peeped his head up from Winter on Groundhog Day, it meant six more weeks of cold weather. If it was a gray day, with no shadow, it meant an early spring. His handler said Willie was right 90 percent of the time, but not everybody was happy.