The second full moon of 2026 is just days away. February’s Full Snow Moon is set to rise on the evening of February 1, transforming winter chaos into a celestial reminder.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased technical content and lab reviews. Add CNET as your preferred Google source.
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the moon will reach full illumination on Sunday at 5:09 p.m. ET, just before sunset. The moon will be below the horizon at this point over most of the northern hemisphere, so you won’t be able to catch it at its peak. It will appear on the eastern horizon shortly after 6:00 p.m. local time and cross the sky before settling on the western horizon just as the sun rises.
The Snow Moon has no particular characteristics, like the January super moon Or last June’s mini-moon. What makes this moon special is its timing. People in the Midwest and Northeast United States have a ton of snow on the ground right now, and with temperatures expected to stay below freezing for several weeks, the snow will likely still be there when the full moon arrives.
Snow is a certified expert at reflecting light, including moonlight.
That should be quite a spectacle on its own. According to NASA, this is due to the snow falling a very high albedoa measure of how well a material reflects sunlight. Snow reflects over 90% of solar radiation and light, and since moonlight is just sunlight reflected off the moon, that means snow will do a great job bouncing that light around.
The result will undoubtedly be one of the brightest nights of the year, easily surpassing the supermoons arriving later in 2026.
You won’t need any special equipment to see the full moon, as it’s the brightest thing in the night sky for a mile. With all the snow cover, you may not even need a flashlight if you let your dog out after dark and the skies are clear.
Why is it called the Snow Moon?
Residents of the Midwest and Northeast need only look outside to discover why February’s full moon is called the Snow Moon. The Old Farmer’s Almanac says it deserves the name because the month had the most snow before 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 of its snow falls in Februaryand since most people lived there at the time, that’s probably where the name came from.
