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Full moon will peak late this week as the “Snow Moon”

NASA/Bill Dunford

The next full Moon will be early Saturday morning, February 27, 2021, appearing opposite the Sun in Earth-based longitude at 3:17 AM EST. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Thursday night through Sunday morning. The moon is commonly referred to as the “Snow Moon”.

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 a fairly straightforward one: it’s known as the Snow Moon due to the typically heavy snowfall that occurs in February. On average, February is the United States’ snowiest month, according to data from the National Weather Service. In the 1760s, Captain 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.” (Farmers Almanac)

Phases for February 2021.

Full moons in 2021

Here are the full moons for 2021, according to NASA:

DateNameU.S. Eastern TimeUTC
Jan 28Wolf Moon2:16 p.m.19:16
Feb 27Snow Moon3:17 a.m.8:17
Mar 28Worm Moon2:48 p.m.18:48
Apr 26Pink Moon11:31 p.m.3:31 (Apr. 27)
May 26Flower Moon7:14 a.m.11:14
Jun 24Strawberry Moon2:40 p.m.18:40
Jul 23Buck Moon10:37 a.m.2:37 (Jul 24)
Aug 22Sturgeon Moon8:02 a.m.12:02
Sep 20Corn Moon7:55 a.m.23:55
Oct 20Harvest Moon10:57 a.m.14:57
Nov 19Beaver Moon3:58 a.m.8:58
Dec 18Cold Moon11:36 p.m.4:36 (Dec 19)