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The Super Blue Moon is tonight! Will clouds ruin the show though?

The Super Blue Moon is tonight? This rare event has not occurred since 2009 and will not happen again until 2037. Will clouds ruin the show though?

By: Katie McGraw

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Tonight is the night! It is a full moon, a supermoon and a blue moon, but will clouds ruin the show?

A cold front rolled through and only brought isolated light showers, but ushered in much cooler air and a lot of clouds!

High pressure is just to our north and this will help move the clouds out overnight and into Thursday. Peak illumination is around 9 p.m. and I do think the clouds will be hanging tough at that time. However, clouds will be thinning tonight and into tomorrow morning. The sun comes up around 7 a.m., and the moon will set around that same time. If you are a night owl or an early riser, you could poke your head outside to give it a look because this is a special and rare event. Let me explain why below...

Supermoons are when the full moon occurs when the moon is closest to Earth. So this full moon will be the biggest & brightest of 2023, because it is exceptionally close to Earth! It will be about 17,000 miles closer than normal. There are usually three to four supermoons every year, according to NASA. Meanwhile, a blue moon happens when there are two full moons in a month. This happens every two to three years. People sometimes refer to two types of blue moons: monthly and seasonal. This upcoming moon is a monthly blue moon. Seasonal blue moons occur when there are four full moons in a single season (spring, summer, fall and winter) instead of the usual three.

So while supermoons happen a couple of times a year and a monthly blue moon happens every few years - a super blue moon is more rare. The last time it happened was December 2009, and the next will not occur until 2037! So again, while the clouds are overstaying their welcome, it is a rare event and still worth a look. Plus, the moon will appear full tomorrow night as well.