Eclipse hours away

The Associated Press is reporting that sky gazers in North and Central America, weather permitting, will be able to witness this year’s only total eclipse of the moon. The eclipse will happen tonight on the West Coast and during the wee hours Tuesday on the East Coast.

Since the eclipse coincides with winter solstice, the moon will appear high in the sky, the AP reports.

Total eclipse begins at 2:41 a.m. EST Tuesday. The totality phase — when the moon is entirely inside Earth’s shadow — will last a little over an hour.

Skygazers in the Mahoning Valley may be out of luck. The National Weather Service is forecasting cloudy conditions for the Youngstown area with a 20 percent chance of snow overnight.