On Monday night, the sky will light up with the biggest, brightest supermoon of the year – and the Seattle area just might be able to see it but the odds aren't that good.
The KOMO News forecast calls for mostly cloudy. Get the latest forecast here <>><>>
A "supermoon" is when the moon appears larger because it is at a closer point in its orbit to Earth; technically there is one every month (along with a time when the moon is furthest away), but it's only when this distancing coincides with a full moon that we give it the moniker to describe how big and bright it looks.
February's "Super Snow Moon" (so dubbed for happening during the coldest time of the year) isn't at its fullest until 7:53 a.m. on Tuesday morning. But full moons look best at dusk and dawn, and the perigee — the time the moon is the closest — will be about six hours before that.
So, the best time to catch the Super Snow Moon is around 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning. But your first chance to see the supermoon will be Monday around 4:49 p.m. when a bigger-than-usual moon will be rising — that is, assuming the Seattle-metro area weather is clear enough.
Our region is notoriously tricky for viewing astronomical events, with plenty of shooting star and aurora chances passing us by. But just last month, the clouds let Washington residents get a peak of the astronomical trifecta of a "Super Blood Wolf Moon."
Currently, the forecast for the Seattle-area is partially cloudy throughout the day and evening on Monday.
On Tuesday, that forecast gets a lot cloudier, and even a chance for lowland snow, according to the National Weather Service. That means that the final chance to see the Super Snow Moon, when it rises again on Tuesday evening around 6:02 p.m., may be slim.
But if we do miss this one, don't fret too much: March 20 will bring a new supermoon (dubbed, depending on where you are, the "Worm Moon," the "Sap Moon," or the "Crow Moon") which both coincides with the start of spring and will be the third and final supermoon of 2019.