First Blue Moon in Nearly 3 Years Lights Up Lafayette Sky Tonight

Our first blue moon since July 31, 2004 is going to light up the night sky tonight. When you gaze at the moon tonight it will look no different than any other full moon. What makes it special is that it is the second full moon in the same month. It will be officially full at 9:04 p.m. This is a rare occurrence and thus the name, "blue moon". Two full moons in the same month only take place once every 2.5 to 2.75 years. So even if the moon is not really blue it makes it something you will not want to miss. The next blue moon for Lafayette will not be until June 30, 2007 and then after that you will have to wait until December 31, 2009.



I had to look long and hard to find a picture of a real "blue moon" and did find one. Take a look at this beautiful picture. Tom King of Watauga, Texas took this picture of a waning moon one sultry, humid night in Texas. The water particles in the air were just the right size and thick enough to make the moon appear blue. Even though our skies in Lafayette tonight will be hazy, do not expect to see an actual blue moon. Blue moon photos have also been taken in areas close to volcanic eruptions or large fires.

Tonight I do think most of us should have good viewing conditions for the full blue moon. Any pop up storms should be brief and isolated in nature. This is in stark contrast to what happened just over 3 years ago on May 30, 2004. Tonight many WLFI viewers were trying to find places to live and were cleaning up after our biggest tornado outbreak on record. The map below shows all the tornadoes in our viewing area. We were literally swarmed!



In all we had 11 tornadoes. Tippecanoe County alone had 4 tornadoes, including 2 tornadoes that collided in Dayton and later touched down in Haggerty Hills with wind speeds estimated at 150 mph destroying two homes. Peru had an F-3 tornado with a wind speed estimated at 200 mph. Here are some amazing pictures from that day we will never forget.


1 of 2 Tornadoes to Hit Dayton


Devastating Damage in Peru

Check back here on the blog later today to find out why lightning was the reason why somebody lost their life and not the tornadoes. Also make sure to join me tonight at 5,6, and 11 for the latest on your weekend forecast which is looking even better. Have a great day!