NORTHERN HEMISPHERE — Maybe you’ll feel it even if you can’t see it. The third and final supermoon of the year will rise today, while the Geminids meteor shower peaks, tonight. Rain is expected for late Wednesday and overnight through Thursday, with heavy snow anticipated in the high country.
Known as the Cold Moon, the December moon is full on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at at 4:05 p.m. PDT and will appear full tonight and tomorrow night. It’s the last in a trio of successive supermoons to round out 2016 and is reportedly the brightest and highest up of all three, at midnight. A supermoon results when the moon reaches its full phase at the closest point to Earth along the satellite’s elliptical orbit, causing the awesome orb to look bigger and about 30 percent brighter in the sky, according to NASA.
The full moon tonight coincides with the annual Geminid meteor show, with its brightness possibly obscuring some of the light show in the sky. Locally, conditions are cloudy and rain is expected later in the week. Whether we will be able to observe any of these phenomena or not, remains to be seen.
Rain is likely in the foothills on Wednesday and Thursday, with a possibility of one-half to one inch accumulated over two days, according to the National Weather Service forecast at this time. For an update on Oakhurst weather follow this link. For an update on Yosemite weather, where heavy snow is expected, follow this link.
