It’s going to be a wet weekend, but you won’t need to shovel

More than a half-inch of rain expected, with brief wintry mix

Meteorologists say the final weekend of February is shaping up to be fairly gloomy in the Lehigh Valley, but this time you won’t have to shovel once the storms are over.

Two fast-moving systems will bring more than a halfinch of rain to the area, according to Empire Weather, which provides localized forecasts for The Morning Call.

A brief wintry mix could be in store overnight into Saturday morning, but will change to all rain as temperatures warm into the upper 40s by Saturday afternoon.

“This should be the primer for the next storm on Sunday which may have the potential to cause some minor flooding, especially as water starts to release from the snow pack,” the National Weather Service said in its latest forecast discussion.

The first system could bring more than a quarter-inch of precipitation, while the second could yield up to a half-inch of rain, Empire Weather said.

The weather pattern will obscure the final full moon of the winter, which rises this weekend.

February’s full moon is known as the “snow moon.” While the name seems especially fitting this year, it will rise tonight at 5:08 p.m. just as clouds are moving in and reach full phase at 3:17 a.m. Saturday.

While the naming of the “snow moon” is pretty straightforward for the month of February, the moon is also known by other names.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, names for this month’s moon have long held a connection to animals. Native Americans have referred to this moon as the “bald eagle moon” or the “bear moon.” The “black bear moon” refers to a time when bear cubs are born, and other names include the “raccoon moon” or the “groundhog moon.”

The first full moon of spring will be the “worm moon” on March 28, a little more than a week after the spring equinox. Three supermoons in a row will follow in April, May, and June.

The May “flower moon” will also bring a lunar eclipse, where the moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow, giving it a red hue. This is often called the “super blood moon.”

The beginning of the eclipse will be visible — weather permitted — in the early morning hours of May 26.