Since the length of daylight is still relatively short, the full Moon will appear for nearly its longest duration of the year. In fact, today's moonrise happens at 3:58 p.m., and tomorrow's moonset is at 6:26 a.m. That means the Moon will be "out" for nearly 14-and-a-half hours. Sunrise this morning was at 7:09. During the Summer, when the Sun rises earlier and sets later, a full Moon isn't "out" nearly as long since the daylight is much longer.
The Moon rises about 30 to 70 minutes later each day, so the Moon is out during the daytime as often as it is out at night. As the Moon wanes, it becomes a half Moon and a crescent Moon on the way to a new Moon. The complete phase cycle is about 29.5 days average duration. The time in days counted from the time of New Moon is called the Moon's "age." Each complete cycle of phases is called a "lunation."
So how did the name of the January full Moon originate? Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for this month's full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon. The next three full Moons this year include the February 7th Snow Moon, March 8th Worm Moon, and April 6th Pink Moon.
As far as our weather is concerned, we won't be able to see the Full Moon tonight due to a weak Clipper system which should bring less than an inch of snow to southwestern Connecticut. The light snow will exit the region after midnight. Tomorrow will be partly sunny, blustery, and cold with a high temperatures in the upper 20s. Sunny skies are expected Sunday before milder temperatures arrive by next week.
Paul
