Spot the Full Snow Moon!
February’s full Moon peaks Wednesday morning, February 12! Why is it called the full Snow Moon? What makes this Moon special? Find out in our February Moon Guide.
When to See the Full Moon in February 2025
February’s full Snow Moon reaches peak illumination at 8:53 A.M. EST on Wednesday, February 12. It will be below the horizon at this time, so for the best view of this Moon, look for it starting the night before or later on Wednesday; it will drift above the horizon in the east around sunset and reach its highest point in the sky around midnight. See when the Moon will be visible in your area.
Why Is It Called the Snow Moon?
The full Moon names used by The Old Farmer’s Almanac come from a number of places, including Native American, Colonial American, and European sources. Traditionally, each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not just to the full Moon itself.
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The Snow Moon
The explanation behind February’s full Moon name is a fairly straightforward one: it’s known as the Snow Moon due to the typically heavy snowfall that occurs in February. On average, February is the United States’ snowiest month, according to data from the National Weather Service. In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver, who had visited with the Naudowessie (Dakota), wrote that the name used for this period was the Snow Moon, “because more snow commonly falls during this month than any other in the winter.”
Alternative February Moon Names
Names for this month’s Moon have historically had a connection to animals. The Cree traditionally called this the Bald Eagle Moon or Eagle Moon. The Ojibwe Bear Moon and Tlingit Black Bear Moon refer to the time when bear cubs are born. The Dakota also call this the Raccoon Moon; certain Algonquin peoples named it the Groundhog Moon, and the Haida named it Goose Moon.
Another theme of this month’s Moon names is scarcity. The Cherokee names of Month of the Bony Moon and Hungry Moon give evidence to the fact that food was hard to come by at this time.
→ See a full calendar year of Moon names and meanings.
Moon Phases for February 2025
All dates and times listed below are Eastern Standard Time. See the Almanac’s Moon Phase Calendar for times in your city/state.
February Moon Phase Dates and Times
| First Quarter: February 5, 3:02 A.M. |
| Full Moon: February 12, 8:53 A.M. |
| Last Quarter: February 20, 12:32 A.M. |
| New Moon: February 27, 7:45 P.M. |
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→ When is the next full Moon? See our Full Moon calendar.
February Snow Moon Video
Each month, we will explain the traditional names of the Full Moon along with some fascinating Moon facts. In this video, learn about the Snow Moon, “Moon weather,” and the horns of the new crescent Moon. Click below to watch the video.
Best Days in February 2025
Below are the Best Days for activities, based on the Moon’s sign and phase in February.
For Planting…
…Aboveground crops: 8, 9
…Belowground crops: 18, 19
For Setting Eggs
6, 7, 14-16
For Fishing
1-12, 27, 28
→ See all our Best Days for various activities.
Moon Facts and Folklore
- On February 6, 1971, Alan Shepard became the first man to hit a golf ball on the Moon.
- Did you know that the Moon’s diameter is 2,160 miles? This is less than the width of the United States (approximately 3,000 miles), and 0.27 of Earth’s diameter (7,926 miles).
- Wolves have howled at the Moon for centuries, yet it is still there.
- And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the Moon.
—Edward Lear, English poet (1812-88)
Share your thoughts about the February Moon below!
Catherine Boeckmann
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Hi, Judy, You have made our day with your lively and generous comment. Thank you very much for your loyalty to this Almanac! About the “anonymous quotes”: You might be going waaaay back (like several decades), when every teeny, tiny space on any page that was not an ad was filled with a line of text.
For more than 15 years now, we have attributed the source of just about every quote, with his/her name, his/her country of origin (e.g., American), the nature of his/her work (e.g., American writer, Canadian poet), and given his/her birth and death dates (e.g., 1875–1937). The only time this might not appear is on the Calendar Pages because there is so little space. Sometimes proverbs or adages or folklore appears without attribution; that may be what you are thinking about.
We aim to introduce quotes and other fun facts or sayings into stories when they “fit”—not just the space but the theme—and we will continue to do so.
In the meantime, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts! We appreciate you!
Almanac editors
I'm 65 years old now buy I remember having a Farmers Almanac in my home as a small child. My parents had farming backgrounds in Oklahoma and forever kept the almanac within their reach. Now sharing this with my own children.
Some of the more ''far out'', incredible information I've learned about the moon extends well beyond the quaint folklore about it catching rain or enhancing plant growth.: 1) It's a vantage point from which ET geneticists who engineered humans can monitor us,2) the moon is hollow, making metallic clanging sounds when struck by jettisoned portions of the space capsule. 3) It's material is older than any known material on earth, 4) it appears to be an artificial satellite, contains electronic equipment, & provides interior shelter..5) ET bases and space craft were observed on the back side of the moon during Apollo 14 landing. Radio transmissions directly from Apollo were intercepted by an independent Ham operator confirming this encounter. 6) A later Apollo mission carrying a nuclear device intended to detonate on the back side of the moon, was met by an extraordinary light (ship?) which fired a beam at the apollo craft just as it went exoatmospheric, striking it 4 times while circling it, causing it to disintegrate and fall back into the earth's atmosphere. The FAA footage, evidence of this event was pirated from "men in black" who visited the FAA's 2nd in command who was later interviewed by Dr. Steven Greer, founder of The Disclosure Project.
I am trying to find out what the twin days are for planting butterbeans.Any info appreciated please.
Twin days are when the Moon is in the astrological sign of Gemini (the Twins). You can find out when the Moon is in this sign by going to “The Moon’s Astrological Place, 2015-16” chart on page 243 of the 2016 national edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Or you can purchase the chart for download here:
http://store.almanac.com/product/2016-astrology-moons-sign-calendar
You can find the current day’s Moon’s astrological sign here:
http://www.almanac.com/advice
Today (2/24/16) it is in Virgo.
Hope this helps!
Been reading Old Farmer's Almanac for forty years. Someone nicked my 2015 issue so I had to go online!
Which tribes called it " the hunger moon " and which tribes did not ?
Our sources say that the Algonquin tribe sometimes used this name. The Choctaw used a similar name, "Little Famine Moon." The Osage used the "Hunger Moon" name instead for the first full Moon of their year.
You are all over the news today! I buy the Almanac at Hennings mkt in PA, and luv your garden calendar with the beautiful art. Main stream media is shocked you rightly called the colder winter 2014 and our gov experts did not. Saw an article that said it was dubious back in Aug!
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/08/26/fox-news-forecast-comes-from-farmers-almanac-th/195603
Find myself exploring your website and there is so much more! Thank you and keep up the outstanding work OFA of NH, not to be confused the FA in ME right, :)
At the beginning of Feb. I saw an article that showed various moons, one was just the circumference, which I don't believe I have ever seen. Now I cannot find it, is there such a moon?
