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Utah's eclipse-viewing weather: mostly sunny, except for 2 minutes, 40 seconds

FILE - In this May 20, 2012, file photo, the annular solar eclipse is seen as the sun sets behind the Rocky Mountains from downtown Denver. The solar eclipse that is cutting a diagonal path across the U.S. next month is a boon for Missouri tourism. Some towns will have more visitors than residents on Aug. 21, 2017. Hotels and campsites are sold out as some communities are preparing for unparalleled numbers of visitors, all to observe about two minutes of near-darkness at the height of the day. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

  | Aug. 19, 2017, 3:12 p.m.
| Updated: Aug. 26, 2017, 11:11 p.m.

Northern Utahns wanting a glimpse of today’s solar eclipse should should have pretty good viewing conditions to see Old Sol all but completely obscured with mostly sunny skies — except for about 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

That’s about how long the phenomenon will last as it tracks through the region on a its shadowy course. The eclipse’s totality path enters the U.S. from the Pacific Ocean at 11:16 a.m. MDT in Newport, Ore., continues east through Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia before exiting the continent at Charleston, S.C., at 12:48 p.m. MDT.

Alas, Utahns will experience only a partial eclipse this far south of the totality track, but it still will reach an awe-inspiring blockage of roughly 90 percent by 11:33 a.m. MDT. To see the total eclipse through those NASA-approved protective eye shades will mean a 150-mile or so trip north to perhaps Idaho Falls, or perhaps a 350-mile jaunt to Casper, Wyo.

Utahns will see a partial version of Monday's total eclipse, but at roughyl 90 percent coverage it will still be spectacular. (Courtesy National Weather Service)

Still, eclipse-viewing opportunities could be a bit spotty along the Wasatch Front. The National Weather Service forecasts partly cloudy skies in the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys come Monday, as well as in areas further north, and closer to the expected full shadow of moon’s transit over the sun, like Cache, Weber and Davis counties.

It may be a similar roll of the dice for those brave enough to drive all the way north to the path of totality. The National Weather service and other forecasting outfits — The Weather Channel and Wunderground among them — are calling for a few clouds Monday in Idaho Falls, however Casper is expected to be clear. Jackson, Wyo. should be mostly sunny, according to the Weather Service. 

But even if a clear view of the eclipse is elusive, darkness will be in evidence and likely temperatures — expected to range in the low-80s to mid-90s — will retreat a few degrees as the heavenly lights go out.

For more detail on the eclipse, how to safely view it and where and when, click on this link.