Aug 12 Eclipse Weather: UK Split, Spain Clear
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- A partial solar eclipse crosses the UK on Wednesday 12 August, with the Moon starting to move across the Sun from around 18:00 BST — the closest approach to a total eclipse the country will see for some time.
- London will see around 90% of the Sun obscured at peak, while Cornwall could reach up to 95% coverage, the deepest obscuration anywhere in the UK.
- Eclipse peak times vary by location across the UK, falling between 19:02 and 19:16 BST.
- High pressure across continental Europe and low pressure with weather fronts over the north Atlantic create a sharp weather split, leaving much of England dry, hot and sunny but pushing cloud and rain outbreaks into western Scotland and the north and west of Northern Ireland.
- Spain and Portugal are forecast for near-perfect clear skies, while Iceland faces rain in the south with the best gaps only in the north.
- Viewers need an unobstructed western sightline from a high vantage point away from trees and buildings, since the Sun will sit very low in the western sky during the eclipse.
Why it matters: This is the closest approach to a total eclipse the UK will see for years, with London losing 90% of the Sun at peak and Cornwall hitting 95% — so the weather split hands clear skies to southern England, Spain, and Portugal, while cloud threatens to obscure the view across Scotland and Northern Ireland. With the Sun positioned low on the western horizon, choosing the right vantage point matters as much as the cloud forecast for actually witnessing the event.
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