Will the weather hold out for the eclipse?

On Monday 21 August a solar eclipse is due for those directly in the Moon's shadow on Earth.

It's a rare event that was last visible in the UK in March 2015. It wasn't a total eclipse for the UK then, but it was across the North Atlantic including the Faroe Islands.

A solar eclipse is when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, and when it completely covers the Sun it is known as a total solar eclipse.

:: Everything you need to know about US eclipse

On Monday, several US states are likely to see this happen, whereas the rest of the world may still witness a partial eclipse.

The last time the US experienced a total solar eclipse was 38 years ago. This one is being named the Great American Eclipse 2017.

According to experts, you need to be in the path of totality to be able to view the eclipse and that path is quite thin.

It is due to cross the US from west to east, passing through parts of the following 14 states: Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina.

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It will start at Lincoln Beach in Oregon at 9.05am PDT and will finish near Charleston, South Carolina, at 2.48pm EDT.

However, despite knowing its track, the weather forecast also plays a big part, as clear skies would be best for viewing.

Currently the latest weather forecast for Monday indicates that the clearest skies will be across Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, whereas in the South East there are likely to be cloudy skies and thunderstorms.

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Viewings may be obscured for Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas too as by the time the eclipse happens there in the early afternoon, it could be rather cloudy.

For the UK, a partial eclipse may be viewed, but only 4% of the Sun will be covered by the Moon.

The eclipse in the UK will start just after 7.30pm and reach its maximum at about 8pm.

As it is happening very close to sunset in the UK, the North will have the best chance of seeing it, as it will be lighter there for longer.

However, due to the effects of ex-Hurricane Gert, viewings of the partial eclipse are likely to be very limited on Monday in the UK, as many areas will most probably be cloudy, wet and windy.

:: Sky News will have full live coverage of the Great American Eclipse from 3pm today