This weekend, a lunar occurrence reflective of the unusual snowfall spread across the Southeast last week is expected to dazzle the skies.
February’s full Snow Moon will reach its peak in the wee hours Saturday, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. It will float above the horizon in the East around sunset Friday night, but it will be in its full form after midnight Saturday.
This month’s full Snow Moon reaches peak illumination at 3:19 a.m. EST Saturday, according to the almanac. The exact time to see the best view of the Snow Moon can be found by selecting your specific ZIP code here to determine peak views.
WHY IS IT CALLED THE SNOW MOON?
The full moon names used by The Old Farmer’s Almanac come from a number of places, including Native American, Colonial American and European sources. Traditionally, each full moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not just to the full moon itself.
The explanation behind February’s full moon name is quite intuitive. The name stems from the traditionally massive snowfall that hits across the U.S. in February. February is typically America’s snowiest month, according to data from the National Weather Service.
In the 1760s, Capt. Jonathan Carver, who had visited with the Naudowessie (Dakota), wrote that the name used for this period was the Snow Moon “because more snow commonly falls during this month than any other in the winter.”
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