Will weather cooperate in SE Michigan for Monday's eclipse? Outlook cloudy

It's still up in the air whether spectators in the southeast corner of Michigan will experience the full effect of the total solar eclipse on Monday or whether clouds will block their view.

Trent Frey, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Detroit office, said Luna Pier, Michigan, is forecasted to have about 40% coverage of clouds around the time of totality, which is expected to be 3:13 p.m. This percentage refers to how much of the sky is covered by clouds.

A total solar eclipse will cross North America on Monday, darkening communities across the continent. Totality means that the moon will fully block the face of the sun. Parts of Luna Pier, Erie Township and Bedford Township in Monroe County are the only communities in Michigan in the path of totality. The rest of Michigan will experience a partial solar eclipse.

Frey said Luna Pier has about a 50% chance of light showers Sunday night, which lowers to 30-40% Monday morning. He said that by the afternoon, the sky should clear up, but it's a question of "how quickly the clouds get out of there."

He said Luna Pier is currently forecasted to have about 40% coverage of clouds during totality.

"The way things have been trending, it's been clearing out of there a little bit sooner, so that might be good news," he said. "But we still are a couple days out, so we've got some time to refine what the clouds are going to look like at that point."

The cloud cover will keep decreasing during the day, so it's expected to be down to about 20% by 8 p.m. Luna Pier is forecasted to have a high of around 63 degrees on Monday, Frey said.

The forecasted weather is the same in Erie Township, another community in the path of totality, as Luna Pier on Monday, he said.

Toledo's forecast is also basically identical to Luna Pier, Trey said, but it is expected to have a high of 66 degrees. In addition, Toledo's forecast incorporates a temperature drop of several degrees around the time of totality. The covering of the sun makes it feel a little cooler outside.

Detroit, which is expected to see an about 99% eclipse, will have a high of 62 degrees on Monday and a cloud cover of 40-50% at around 3:13 p.m.

Meanwhile, communities across the path of totality are wondering what the weather conditions will be on Monday.

In Indianapolis, showers are expected to come through the area earlier than in Metro Detroit ― during Sunday late afternoon and night. So the clouds should clear out of the area earlier as well. Indianapolis is forecasted to have a 15-20% cloud cover at the time of totality.

Burlington, Vermont, meanwhile, has a 0% chance of precipitation on Monday and a forecasted cloud cover of 10-20%.

Frey recommends that eclipse spectators look at the forecast Monday morning and then determine where to travel to.

"Especially for us, where it's still kind of in question, it's a good idea to take a look at the forecast when you wake up that day and take a look at the satellite imagery, see where the clouds are at, how far they've progressed," he said, "and then make decision from there about where you want to go."

Luna Pier, one of the few places in Michigan in the path of the totality of Monday's solar eclipse,