If January’s Cold Moon succeeded in reminding us of what season we’re in, February’s upcoming full moon has another apt moniker: Snow Moon.
The Snow Moon–the first full moon of February 2025, occurs on Feb. 12 at exactly 8:53 a.m. EST.
Why does the moon turn full? It’s because it reaches the point along its orbit most directly opposite the sun from Earth, meaning the greatest possible area of sun-exposed lunar surface is visible from Earth—the moon appears its “fullest.” The moment of peak fullness is just a sliver of an instant that occurs irrespective of what time zone you’re in. So, the moon can reach technical fullness at dawn, as it will for North American observers on Feb. 12, midday, or anytime.
Face east at sunset (since full moons are always opposite the sun); the full Snow Moon will rise high in the sky.
However, should the Snow Moon peak below the horizon or out of sight, worry not. The night before and after will offer moons that still look full.
It’s easy to guess why February’s moon is named the Snow Moon (just look outside), but not everyone may know who named it. Nor that there are many other names for it—some described similarly, others more abstrusely.
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Also of note is that February is traditionally a short month (even on leap years, which add a day), and this occasionally gives rise to an elusive moon with a mysterious name: Black Moon—when the month has no full moon.
And some leap years, there’s a full moon that is rarely seen even once in a lifetime.
An illustrative photo depicts the full Snow Moon. Shutterstock/ mejnak
A Plethora of Moon Names
After arriving in the New World, the first colonists made contact with Native American tribes, and colonial writers recorded the names of lunar cycles and then attributed those names to tribal peoples. Several moons derived in this way include Snow Moon, Buck Moon, Corn Moon, Wolf Moon, Beaver Moon. Countless others exist. Each denotes an entire month, not just the full moon.
With parts of Canada averaging six metres of snow a year, and February along with January being the coldest months, the meaning of Snow Moon is plainly understood.
Meanwhile, winter-themed variations proliferated. Deep Snow Moon and Midwinter Moon were recorded, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the former named by the Mahicans of northeastern United States and the latter by the Oneida of the Great Lakes region.
Even more descriptive names exist. Makes Branches Fall In Pieces Moon, given by the Abenaki of Maine, tells of ice splitting the limbs of trees in winter. Likewise, the Lakota of the northern plains called February’s moon When Trees Crack Because of Cold Moon.
But as climates vary, so do moon names. Sleet Moon and Frost Sparkling in Sun Moon tell of thawing temperatures in late February, the former being derived from Comanche tribes of the southern plains, and the latter from the Arapho of the northern plains.
Names of moons in February may also signify that month as being one of dwindling supplies, as the Hunger Moon and Bone Moon of the Cherokee in North Carolina do.
Birds and animals are not left out. The Alaskan Haida tribe’s Goose Moon denotes migrating birds, while the Pacific Northwest Tlingits’ Black Bear Moon denotes hibernating bears. The Canadian Ojibwe called it When the Bear Cubs Are Born Moon.
An abstract depiction of February’s odd Black Moon and ultra-rare Leap Day Full Moon. Shutterstock/ Elena11/Olivier Le Moal
Black Moon, Leap Day Moon
On rare occasions, though, there’s no moon to attach names to. This occurs because February is indeed an odd month with only 28 days. Lunar cycles have 29.5 days. So, every so often, full moons fall right before and right after February and miss the month entirely. This is the Black Moon, the last of which was in 2018. They appear approximately every 19 years, the next falling in 2037.
But there’s more strangeness in February, an event even rarer—by a long shot. Some leap years, there’s a full moon that is rarely seen even once in a lifetime.
Most people know someone who was born in a leap year, whose birthdays number four times fewer than others their age. Every four years, February receives an extra day to correct for loose change from Earth’s odd orbit. It takes 365 and 1/4 days for it to circle the sun. The event of a full moon on Feb. 29 is a Leap Day Full Moon. They only happen four times a millennium, the next being in 2048.
It may fall in our lifetime. Or it may not.
