This Super Full Moon is Called the Cold Moon: What It Means for Oregon / Washington

Published 12/03/25 at 8:55 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Manzanita, Oregon) - Have you noticed anything different about the moon lately? Above: the moon over Manzanita, Oregon Coast Beach Connection.

According to OMSI astronomy expert Jim Todd, you're seeing an extra dose of brightness and fullness this season. It will also be obvious that it's a colder sight: indeed this full moon is named after that.

“This coming December 4th, the Full Moon (3:14 pm) will reach its highest point due south,” Todd told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “The Full Moon nearest to the Winter Solstice is the highest full moon of the year. And it is the third of the four super moons of 2025-26 - Oct 6, Nov 5, Dec 4, and Jan 3.”

This super moon – or really any moon at the winter solstice – is called the Cold Moon.

By contrast, in summer the full moon sits much lower on the horizon and looks dimmer.

Todd said that like the Sun, the Moon rises in the east and sets in the west, reaching its highest point due south around midnight. Its maximum height above the horizon shifts throughout the year. The Sun is lowest at noon on the Winter Solstice (December 21) and highest at noon on the Summer Solstice (June 21). Because full moons occur when the Moon is opposite the Sun, the two act like a celestial see-saw: when the Sun is highest in summer, the full moon is lowest at midnight; when the Sun is lowest in winter, the full moon is highest at midnight.

This December’s full moon will climb more than 72 degrees above the southern horizon, roughly the same height as the midsummer Sun at 68 degrees. In practical terms, summer full moons remain low, while winter full moons soar high overhead. At the equinoxes in March and September, both the Sun and full moon reach about 45 degrees at their peak.

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On December 4, the Moon also reaches perigee, its closest point to Earth at 221,808 miles. This “perigee moon” appears larger and brighter because of the Moon’s elliptical orbit, which brings it about 31,000 miles closer at perigee than at apogee.

“A supermoon exceeds the disk size of an average-sized Moon by up to 8% and the brightness of an average-sized full Moon by some 16%,” Todd said.

All this happens to coincide with the full moon responsible for the king tides along the Oregon and Washington coasts. Super full moons don't always occur at the king tides, but they do this year and for another year or so.

“A king tide is the informal term for a very high tide caused when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align, producing a strong gravitational pull,” Todd said. “The scientific term is 'perigean spring tide,' which occurs when the Moon is both at perigee and full or new.”

Whether you're on the beach or inland in areas like Spokane, Salem, McMinnville or Burns, you may want to pause and check out that extra gleam from the moon.

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