Happy New Year! Plus a Rare Occurance Tonight!

Happy New Year's Eve! We are going to bring the new year in on ice though, ice cold temperatures at least, everyone will be below zero during the overnight tonight, and even with a little bit of wind (N Calm-5 during the overnight) we'll see wind chill values into the teens below zero. Bundle up to enjoy the start to the new year!There's also something pretty rare that will occur tonight though we may not be able see it due to the cloud cover, but we will see a little bit of clearing during the overnight. The rarity is going to be the moon, although a full moon ISN'T rare, 2 full moons in one month is. It only occurs every 2.5 years, and it occurs on New Years Eve even less frequently; only once every 19 years. Because of the rarity of this event, we get the phrase "Once in a Blue Moon" - fun little fact for the day. And in Europe, Africa and Asia folks will be able to catch a partial lunar eclipse in addition to the Blue Moon where the moon will actually go partially into the Earth's shadow. It's not going to be a huge partial lunar eclipse, only roughly 8% of the Moon will darkened by the Earth's shadow. And these partial lunar eclipses during a Blue Moon are the most rare, only occurring once every 91 years. Check out SpaceWeather's website for an animated preview.

Have a Safe and Happy New Year!
~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka