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The second full moon of 2026 is just a few days away, and it couldn’t come at a more important time. Much of the United States has been as well Snow pelted her And snow from Winter storm fernIt will be followed directly by February’s full snow moon, which is scheduled to appear on the evening of February 1.
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According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the moon will reach peak brightness at 5:09 PM ET on Sunday, just before sunset. The Moon will be below the horizon at this point for most of the Northern Hemisphere, so you won’t be able to catch this Moon at its peak. It will appear above the eastern horizon shortly after 6:00 p.m. local time and stretch across the sky before setting on the western horizon just at sunrise.
The snow moon has no special properties; Like the supermoon in January or The little moon last June. What makes this moon special is its timing. People in the Midwest and Northeastern United States are currently experiencing a ton of snow on the ground, and with temperatures expected to remain below freezing for several weeks, the snow will likely still be there when the full moon occurs.
Snow is a certified expert in reflecting light, including moonlight.
That should provide a great display on its own. According to NASA, this is due to snowfall Very high whitenessIt is a measure of the extent to which a material reflects sunlight. Snow reflects over 90% of solar radiation and light, and since moonlight is just sunlight reflected off the moon, this means that snow will do an excellent job of reflecting that light.
The result will undoubtedly be one of the brightest nights of the year, easily surpassing the supermoon that will come later in 2026.
You won’t need any special equipment to see the full moon, because it’s the brightest thing in the night sky within a mile of the countryside. With all the snow cover, you may not even need a flashlight if you let your dog out after dark and the sky is clear.
Why is it called the snow moon?
Residents of the Midwest and Northeast need only look outward to discover why the full moon in February is referred to as the Snow Moon. The Old Farmer’s Almanac says it got this name because the month saw the greatest amount of snow in the days leading up to the Revolutionary War.
January has since taken the title of snowiest month. According to data from the Weather Channel, the East Coast is still seeing Most snow falls in FebruarySince most people were living there at that time, this is likely the source of the name.