Clouds Will Be a Concern When Viewing The Total Lunar Eclipse

Tomorrow night, we will have the chance to witness a rare celestial event; that is, of course, if clouds do not cover it from sight.

A total lunar eclipse of a supermoon will happen Sunday night. A supermoon, also known as a “Harvest Moon” due to its occurrence in the autumn season, is the term used to describe the coincidence in which a full moon is at its closest point in its elliptical orbit to Earth. This causes the moon to appear 30% larger and about 14% brighter to the naked eye. The next lunar eclipse of a supermoon will not happen again until 2033.

Although the moon should appear both brighter and larger, cloud cover in Mid-Missouri could hinder its magnitude. Clouds that are expected to increase Saturday night into Sunday morning will blanket our region for most of Sunday. By the later afternoon hours, the clouds will slowly begin to thin out. However, we will still be left with lingering clouds into Sunday night. Skies are expected to be partly cloudy when the lunar eclipse begins at 8:07pm. Areas to the far west will see the least amount of cloud cover, whereas areas to the east will see the largest amount.