*** Paul Piorek is editor and publisher of Paul's Local Weather Journal for southwestern Connecticut ... Paul is the on-air meteorologist at WICC 600 AM and 107.3 FM ... Paul is a New York Emmy award winner (2007), five-time Emmy nominee, and four-time winner of the Connecticut Associated Press Broadcasters' Association award for Best TV Weathercast (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012) ... Paul was voted Best Local Television Personality by the readers of Fairfield County Weekly Magazine (2012) ... Paul was inducted into the Housatonic Community College Hall of Fame and received the Distinguished Alumni Award (2012) ... The local weather journal is a two-time winner of the Communicator Award of Distinction (2012 & 2013) ... Paul is currently a full-time teacher of Earth Science and Mathematics in Fairfield ... Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulPiorekWICC ...

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Full Hunter's Moon Happens Friday Evening

We won't get to see much of the nearly-Full Hunter's Moon tonight. A weak cold front will bring clouds and some rain to the region between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., so the Moon will be obscured overnight. However, we should get a great view of the Full Moon tomorrow evening. Skies will be clear when the Moon rises Friday at 5:55 p.m. EDT, which is less than two hours before it is completely full at 7:38 p.m. Tomorrow night will be clear, cool, and crisp with lows dropping into the 40s under moonlit skies.


So, how did this month's Full Moon get its name? The Hunter's Moon is so named because plenty of moonlight is ideal for hunters shooting migrating birds in Northern Europe. With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it's now time to hunt. Since the fields have been reaped, hunters can ride over the stubble, and can more easily see the fox, as well as other animals, which can be caught for a thanksgiving banquet after the harvest.

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.

Usually the Full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest and Hunter's 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. Thus there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise around the time of these Full Moons.

Paul