Full Harvest Moon This Weekend

You've probably been noticing the waxing Moon each night this week. This morning, however, the Moon is hiding behind the clouds as a storm system will bring periods of rain and a possible thunderstorm to the region, and that will be the weather theme for much of today. We certainly do need the rain, since the yearly rainfall deficit is greater than four inches. The rain should exit later tonight, just in time to see glimpses of the Full Harvest Moon, which happens tomorrow evening, September 29, at 11:19 p.m. EDT.

The Full Harvest Moon comes closest to the Autumnal Equinox, which happened exactly one week ago tomorrow, Saturday, September 22. Generally, the Harvest Moon falls in September two out of every three years, and this year is one of them. As you may have guessed, the origin of the name comes from the fact that at the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon.

Full Moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring Full Moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the Moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.

The Harvest Moon was the only Full Moon given the same name by both the English name and by the Native Americans. This Full Moon falls during the crop harvest before the Winter winds arrive. As days continue to grow shorter, farmers could work on into the evening with the light of the bright Full Moon rising in the East. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice the chief India staples, are now ready for gathering.

Usually the Full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night, just 25 to 30 minutes later across the United States, and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe.

We may see some peaks of the Full Harvest Moon tomorrow night, but clouds will be prevalent for much of the upcoming weekend. A storm system will bring periods of rain and a possible thunderstorm to southwestern Connecticut today, but tomorrow will be primarily dry under mostly cloudy skies and occasional sunshine. Sunday will be mostly cloudy with a few scattered showers, but the weekend won't be a washout at all.

Have a good weekend.

Paul