The Super Blood Wolf Moon will light up skies in the late hours of Sunday, January 20 into the early hours of Monday, January 21. The astronomical phenomenon will be seen in its entirety in the UK, United States, South America, western Europe and western Africa. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon align in a straight line. Earth blocks the light from the sun hitting the moon’s surface, casting its own shadow instead.
But seeing the eclipse is only certain if skies are clear so you will need to check the weather first.
Will the sky be clear for you to see the lunar eclipse on Sunday night and Monday morning?
UK
Steven Keats, Met Office meteorologist said Sunday night’s weather remains uncertain but cloud is predicted to block central swathes of the UK.
He told Express.co.uk: “We are going to have a weather front splitting the country from the north to the south.
“Overnight we will have a line from the Channel Islands running up to the Midlands and northeast Scotland that will be cloudy.
“In the far east in Suffolk and Kent conditions will start off clear but will be cloudier later on.
He added the east of England may have a chance to see the eclipse but warned “don’t hold your breath”.
And further west, including Wales and Northern Ireland, may also be in luck with ‘some reasonably clear skies”.
But the weather forecaster said it was too early to know with any reliability of how conditions would pan out so the best thing would be to check nearer the day.
USA
Viewing conditions will be good in the central and southeastern parts of the United States, according to weather forecasters’ predictions ( have a map to accompany)
AccuWeather Meteorologist Mike Doll said: “There is a potential for a major winter storm to impact the mid-Atlantic and Northeast [this] weekend that could last into Sunday night.
“If that happens, viewing the lunar eclipse is a no-go for residents in those regions.”
Breaks in cloud coverages across the northwestern states will occur enabling people to see the eclipse from Denver, Phoenix and San Francisco.
South America
Summer weather will mean clear skies for the southern end of South America, according to Accuweather.
The weather forecast for the eclipse states: “The best viewing conditions are expected across parts of Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina and include major metropolitan areas such as Asunción, Montevideo and Buenos Aires.
“The time of maximum eclipse in all of these cities will be 2.12 am local time.”
Central Chile will also have mainly clear skies but Brazil will be hampered by dense cloud.
Accuweather said: “Less-than-ideal viewing is expected in and around São Paulo, where clouds along with the risk for showers and thunderstorms will dampen the viewing experience. Clouds can also ruin the show in Rio de Janeiro.
Poor viewing is expected from northern and western Brazil to Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and southern Colombia due to mostly cloudy skies and the risk for rainfall.”