Eclipse day is finally here. Will Indiana weather cooperate? Here's what NWS says

UPDATE: Read about a patch of clouds heading to Central Indiana that could affect eclipse viewing here.

Hours before a total solar eclipse crosses over Indiana, the National Weather Service in Indianapolis has released its latest weather outlook for April 8.

While Monday's forecast appeared to flip-flop last week between cloudy and sunny skies, here's what meteorologists are saying Hoosiers can expect with today's weather.

Get ready:The total solar eclipse is finally here! Here's everything you need to know

What's the Indianapolis weather for April 8?

Grab your solar eclipse glasses. Meteorologists with NWS say Central Indiana will have mostly sunny skies along with some scattered clouds.

"We do have some high-level clouds moving into the area later this afternoon, but we expect these, for the most part, should be relatively thin and have a limited impact on viewing the eclipse," said Indianapolis meteorologist Joseph Nield. "We're cautiously optimistic that things are looking pretty good for us."

Temperatures are expected to hit a high of 75 degrees Monday with winds out of the southwest blowing around 5-8 mph, according to NWS. Monday night will see low temperatures around 54 with south winds at roughly 7 mph.

Live weather radar for Central Indiana

What time is the eclipse in Indiana?

For the Indianapolis area, the eclipse will begin at roughly 1:50 p.m., the totality will start at 3:06 p.m. and last for nearly 4 minutes. The totality will stop at around 3:09 p.m. and end by 4:23 p.m.

What does historic weather data show for the eclipse?

IndyStar analyzed historic weather data earlier this year and found disappointing news when it comes to the state’s cloud cover on April 8.

The cloud cover data between 2000 and 2023 fails to mention the word "sunny" even once, with the best observation being "fair."

NWS defines a "fair" sky as having less than 3/8ths cloud cover. "Partly cloudy" means between 3/8ths and 5/8ths cloud cover. "Mostly cloudy" is when 6/8 to 7/8 of the sky is covered with opaque clouds. And "cloudy" means 7/8ths or more of the sky is obscured.

The breakdown of recent April 8 cloud-cover observations looks like this:

• Fair — 5 days
• Partly cloudy — 3 days
• Mostly cloudy — 6 days
• Cloudy — 10 days

No solar eclipse glasses? No problem:How to make a DIY solar viewer out of a cereal box

IndyStar environment reporter Karl Schneider contributed to this report.

John Tufts covers trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Follow him on X at @JTuftsReports.