Eclipse cloud forecast: will you see the August 12 eclipse?

Q: When is the next total solar eclipse visible from Europe?

Soon: August 2, 2027. That eclipse's totality path crosses the Strait of Gibraltar — southernmost Spain (including most of the province of Cádiz) and Gibraltar — then continues across North Africa through Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

Q: Does this page tell me the exact eclipse time for my city?

No — deliberately. Exact contact times and coverage differ from town to town. NASA's eclipse page and timeanddate.com calculate precise local circumstances for any location.

Cloud forecast for eclipse hour

Where the sky looks clear right now

Hourly cloud cover for the evening of August 12, sampled at 18:00 UTC — the forecast hour closest to maximum eclipse across the path. Lower is better.

      Best odds right now on the totality path: Palma de Mallorca (1%), Ibiza (5%) and Valencia (8%) — and the entire Spanish stretch of the path currently looks clear. Iceland is forecast overcast. In the partial zone, every city we track currently looks good, with Dublin (29%) and Zürich (27%) the cloudiest.
    

On the path of totality

Totality crosses Greenland, western Iceland, and northern Spain through to the Balearic Islands in the evening.

City	Cloud at 18:00 UTC	Sky	Verdict	Trend 16→20h UTC
Reykjavik	95%	Overcast	Unlikely	96 · 95 · 95 · 95 · 95
Westman Islands	98%	Overcast	Unlikely	98 · 98 · 98 · 97 · 96
A Coruña	17%	Clear	Looking good	15 · 16 · 17 · 17 · 16
Oviedo / Gijón	26%	Partly cloudy	Looking good	26 · 25 · 26 · 31 · 37
Santander	22%	Clear	Looking good	21 · 22 · 22 · 22 · 21
Bilbao	14%	Clear	Looking good	11 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16
Burgos	12%	Clear	Looking good	5 · 10 · 12 · 10 · 4
Zaragoza	11%	Clear	Looking good	10 · 11 · 11 · 8 · 5
Valencia	8%	Clear	Looking good	10 · 8 · 8 · 8 · 8
Palma de Mallorca	1%	Clear	Looking good	2 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1
Ibiza	5%	Clear	Looking good	3 · 4 · 5 · 8 · 12

Near-total partial eclipse

Just outside the path — a very deep partial eclipse, well worth stepping outside for.

City	Cloud at 18:00 UTC	Sky	Verdict	Trend 16→20h UTC
Madrid	1%	Clear	Looking good	1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1
Barcelona	13%	Clear	Looking good	14 · 13 · 13 · 10 · 7
Porto	12%	Clear	Looking good	10 · 9 · 12 · 16 · 38
Lisbon	0%	Clear	Looking good	1 · 0 · 0 · 1 · 2

Deep partial eclipse

Most of Europe sees a large partial eclipse in the evening — a substantial bite out of the sun.

City	Cloud at 18:00 UTC	Sky	Verdict	Trend 16→20h UTC
London	12%	Clear	Looking good	14 · 13 · 12 · 11 · 9
Dublin	29%	Partly cloudy	Looking good	25 · 30 · 29 · 31 · 34
Paris	5%	Clear	Looking good	5 · 5 · 5 · 5 · 4
Amsterdam	14%	Clear	Looking good	23 · 22 · 14 · 12 · 20
Brussels	6%	Clear	Looking good	9 · 6 · 6 · 8 · 12
Berlin	15%	Clear	Looking good	17 · 17 · 15 · 14 · 13
Zürich	27%	Partly cloudy	Looking good	21 · 24 · 27 · 26 · 22
Milan	22%	Clear	Looking good	38 · 21 · 22 · 38 · 39
Rome	21%	Clear	Looking good	27 · 23 · 21 · 17 · 11

Cloud cover is the hourly forecast from Forecast Bar's weather data (The Weather Company), sampled at 18:00 UTC on August 12 — about 20:00 local time in Spain, 19:00 in the UK and Ireland, 18:00 in Iceland. Verdicts: under 40% cloud is looking good, 41–70% is a coin flip, above 70% is unlikely. A forecast made days ahead is directional, not a promise — check back; this page refreshes daily through August 12. For your town's exact eclipse times, see NASA or timeanddate.

The event, in brief

An evening total eclipse over Europe

What happens: On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, the Moon completely covers the Sun along a path crossing Greenland, western Iceland, and northern Spain down to the Balearic Islands. Most of the rest of Europe sees a deep partial eclipse.
When, roughly: It's an evening eclipse. Totality reaches western Iceland around 17:45 UTC, and northern Spain roughly 18:25–18:30 UTC — about 20:25–20:30 local time, with the sun already low in the west. Partial phases run for over an hour either side.
Exact local times: Contact times and how much of the sun is covered differ town by town — look yours up at NASA's eclipse page or timeanddate.com.
Why this page exists: Eclipse timing is certain; the sky is not. The one question the astronomy sites can't answer — will it be clear? — is a weather question, so we publish our cloud forecast for eclipse hour, city by city, and refresh it daily.

Make eclipse hour count

Four things that decide whether you see it

🕶️

Eye safety first

Look at the sun only through proper eclipse glasses (ISO 12312-2) during every partial phase — ordinary sunglasses are never enough, no matter how dark. See NASA's eye-safety guide.

🚗

Stay mobile

Cloud is local. The totality path crosses hundreds of kilometres of Spain, and a one- or two-hour drive along it can swap an overcast sky for a clear one. Decide your spot late, using the freshest forecast you have.

🌇

Find a low western horizon

In Spain the eclipsed sun will hang low in the western sky during the evening totality. Hills, buildings, or haze on the horizon can hide it — scout a viewing spot with a clean, open view to the west.

📈

Watch the trend, not one number

A cloud forecast days out is directional. What matters is how it moves as the day approaches — the trend column above shows whether the evening is clearing or clouding over, and the final 48 hours are the forecast to trust.

Take the forecast with you

The same data, hour by hour, for anywhere you go

Forecast Bar radar layers on iPhone, including U.S. Satellite and worldwide Satellite layers

Chasing clear sky is easier with the map open.

This page tracks 24 cities. Forecast Bar tracks anywhere: hour-by-hour cloud cover for any location you save, and satellite layers on the radar map so you can watch the actual cloud field drift on eclipse evening — and move before it matters.

Hourly cloud cover for any location on Earth
Satellite layers on the radar map
Data points for sunrise, sunset, and the sun's path

Forecast Bar Astronomy Alerts settings on iPhone with solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, supermoon, solstice and aurora switches

Never find out about an eclipse the day after.

Forecast Bar sends astronomy alerts for solar and lunar eclipses visible from your location — plus supermoons, solstices, equinoxes, and aurora. The next European total eclipse is only a year away; get the alert before everyone else's group chat does. Astronomy alerts are part of Forecast Bar Gold on iOS and Pro on Mac.

Solar eclipse alerts, filtered to ones visible from your location
Lunar eclipses, supermoons, solstices & equinoxes
Aurora visibility, scored 0–10 for your coordinates

FAQ

Honest answers

What if it's cloudy where I am on August 12?

Stay flexible. The totality path crosses hundreds of kilometres of Spain, and cloud is local: a two-hour drive along the path can be the difference between overcast and a clear sky. Check this forecast again the day before, pick the clearest spot you can reach, and watch satellite imagery on eclipse day. And if the sky wins anyway — totality still turns day to an eerie twilight even under cloud.

When is the next total solar eclipse visible from Europe?

Soon: August 2, 2027. Its totality path crosses the Strait of Gibraltar — southernmost Spain (including most of the province of Cádiz) and Gibraltar — then sweeps across North Africa through Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, where totality lasts over six minutes.

Where does this cloud forecast come from?

From Forecast Bar's production weather stack — the same hourly forecast data (The Weather Company) that powers the app. The percentages are forecast hourly cloud cover for the evening of August 12, sampled at 18:00 UTC, and the page is refreshed daily through eclipse day with the as-of time shown at the top.

How reliable is a cloud forecast made days ahead?

Treat it as directional. Several days out, a cloud forecast tells you which regions look promising, not what one town's sky will do at one hour. It sharpens considerably in the final 48 hours — check back, and treat the day-before and morning-of numbers as the ones to plan around.

Does this page tell me the exact eclipse time for my city?

No — deliberately. Contact times and how much of the sun is covered change from town to town, and those calculations deserve a precise source: NASA's eclipse page and timeanddate.com both compute exact local circumstances for any location.

Your eclipse-day weather app.

Hour-by-hour cloud cover for any location, satellite on the radar, and alerts for the next eclipse. Free to download; live weather requires a subscription, with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers.

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