The Snow Moon in 2027: date, time and why it has that name
February's full Moon, the Snow Moon, is full on . Across the northern states and Canada it often shines on the deepest snow cover of the year.
Next three
The next three Snow Moon dates
- 363,296 km
- 356,711 kmSupermoon
- 359,648 kmSupermoon
The Snow Moon is the first full Moon of February by UTC date. In a time zone far ahead of or behind UTC, the date you see for it can fall in the next or previous month.
The name
Why it is called the Snow Moon
The Snow Moon is February's name in American almanacs, and it is a weather name: February is when snow tends to lie heaviest across the northern United States and Canada. The same Moon carries a harder name in some lists, the Hunger Moon, from the lean weeks when stored food ran low and hunting was poor.
Storm Moon and Ice Moon are also printed for this full Moon. The Anglo-Saxon month list gives it as Sol Moon, and the modern revival list calls it the Moon of Ice.
February is shorter than a lunar month, so in some years it has no full Moon at all and there is no Snow Moon. 2037 is the next such year, then 2067.
- Usually in
- February
- Next full
- Distance then
- 363,296 km
- Supermoon then
- No
- Next three
- Feb 20, 2027 · Feb 10, 2028 · Feb 28, 2029
In the sky
How the Snow Moon looks
Look east-north-east at dusk. The Snow Moon rises close to the hour of sunset, a little later by the clock each week as the evenings stretch. Its real width never changes, about half a degree from the horizon to the zenith, and a small coin at arm's length hides it every time. Near the ground the color slides from pale gold to orange because its light has to cross more air.
Fresh snow is the reason to go outside: it throws the light back and turns open fields blue-white. At 40 degrees north the February full Moon peaks about 60 degrees up, a little lower than January's, and it spends around 13 hours above the horizon.
February is high summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so the Snow Moon's name matches nothing outside the window. The Moon crosses the northern sky at a middling height, about 43 degrees at 35 degrees south, on a warm night with a short stretch of full darkness.
- Northern Hemisphere
- The Moon rises in the east near sunset
- Southern Hemisphere
- The same Moon, markings turned upside down
- Colour
- Gold near the horizon, white once it climbs
- Rises
- Around sunset
- Sets
- Around sunrise
Questions people ask
Quick answers
When is the next Snow Moon?
February 20, 2027 (UTC). The cards above show the next three, in your time zone.
Why is it called the Snow Moon?
The Snow Moon is February's name in American almanacs, and it is a weather name: February is when snow tends to lie heaviest across the northern United States and Canada. The same Moon carries a harder name in some lists, the Hunger Moon, from the lean weeks when stored food ran low and hunting was poor.
Is the Snow Moon a supermoon?
Not the next one: the Moon is 363,296 km away, farther than 361,400 km. Some years it is.
Does the Snow Moon change colour?
The Moon only looks gold or orange when it is low and its light crosses a lot of air. Higher up it looks white.
Is this name the same everywhere?
No. These are the US almanac names. Other regions and traditions name the same full Moons differently, and the names are not one single tradition.