Will Seattle get a glimpse of the near-total lunar eclipse this week, the longest of the century? Here's what we know

A near-total eclipse of the moon is expected to be visible for much of the United States later this week, but weather could potentially hinder Seattle's view of the celestial event.

The partial eclipse will be the longest of the century lasting a total of 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds beginning around 11:18 p.m. PST on Thursday, according to NASA's full moon guide. During the event, the Earth, sun and moon closely align with the Earth in the middle, casting the shadow of the Earth onto the moon.

The maximum eclipse, when the moon is closest to the center of the shadow, is expected to occur around 1:02 a.m. PST on Friday. Over 97% of the moon's surface will appear covered, making just a small sliver on the left side appear bright while the rest of the face will be a deep red or ochre hue.

However, viewing of the eclipse is largely dependent on if the weather remains clear. Following Monday's wet and windy storm front, the forecast from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Seattle is currently predicting that the next active weather system will move over the region on Thursday, potentially blocking any view of the eclipse that evening.

"A weather system will pass mainly south of the area later in the week — but the southern half of Western Washington might see some light rain on Thursday," wrote NWS in their Tuesday forecast briefing.

If the sky watching conditions aren't favorable Thursday, the eclipse can also be viewed online via the Virtual Telescope Project 2.0 and Time and Date's livestream video.

The moon will remain full — in what is called a "Beaver Moon" for the month of November — through Saturday morning.